The Tin Drum: Gunter Grass

The Tin Drum presents Hitler`s rise and fall through the eyes of the dwarfish narrator whose magic powers become symbolic of the dark forces dominating the German nation in the period. Like Thomas Mann`s Doctor Faustus, Grass`s novel explores the dark roots of power and creativity. An early advocate of `magic realism`. Gunter Grass is the most powerful and celebrated novelist to appear in post-war Germany. His home city of Danzig is a powerful presence in this novel.