6/20/2023 0 Comments The tin drum writerBut not always Oskar and his father stand outside the burning synagogue: “….civilians and men in uniforms were piling up books, sacral objects, and strange pieces of cloth”. The polemic is there but, considering the boisterousness of the narrative, at times it is not that obvious. The Tin Drum broke all the rules and invented a few more. Here is a postwar novel born of that war’s legacy. When he says in the opening pages of this angry, swaggering and earthy tour de force: “I’d like to have the bed rails raised even higher to keep anyone from coming too close,” it is not that unexpected. He pulverises each new drum, replacements lasting mere days such is the frenzy of the story unfolding so oppressive is the reality he is intent on escaping. Drumming is his way of detaching from his family and the events unfolding around him. Oskar, very much his own man despite his chosen lack of growth, elects to move between the first-person and third-person voice. From his white-enamelled metal hospital bed, under the watchful, if bewildered eye of Bruno, his nurse, Oskar Matzerath sets out with the help of a family photograph album to tell not only his story but also that of his country. Sanctuary, at least for some people, may best be found in an insane asylum.
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