Two elderly German men, Theo Wuttke and Ludwig Hoftaller, both in their seventies, and
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who now work for a company set up to privatize the former East Germany, find themselves
examining their country's past and present in Gunter Grass' “Too Far Afield.” This is a
poignant accounting of their feelings as the Berlin Wall has fallen around them, and it is
their jobs to make some sense outof the whole thing. Bizarre, surreal, comic, tragic--this
book is a mesmerizing account of a very real happening. Grass has often been criticized for
his criticism
of Germany (he opposed the Nazis and suffered for that, too!). It is not as if he doesn't love
The Fatherland, but his works, especially this one, doesn't shun the irresponsibilities of its
citizens. Slow-moving perhaps, this book is worthwhile in its literary undertaking. It's a
great work.
The review of this Book prepared by Bill Hobbs
