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Article: Ein weites Feld.
- Article from:
- World Literature Today
- Article date:
- March 22, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 University of Oklahoma. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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It was Friedrich Hebbel who thought he could safely offer "the crown of Poland" to any reader managing to finish Adalbert Stifter's novel Nachsommer. What does one promise the determined reader of Gunter Grass's new novel? The German chancellorship? What with Grass's reputation, it is easy to see the publishers selling the 100,000 copies of the first edition, but it is difficult to see many readers finishing its 781 pages. Ein weites Feld, announced with much fanfare as the novel about the German unification, turns out to be a pedestrian, misconceived, and exceedingly dull book. It has been tightly flayed by the critics. Indeed, one could probably safely promise the crown ...