From Publishers Weekly
Large-scale embezzlement finds a memorable champion in the protagonist and narrator of this complex, intriguing novel originally published in Germany in 1991. After fleeing Hamburg and a prison sentence for bilking investors out of millions, middle-aged commodities trader Peter Walter settles with his wife and daughter into a luxurious hideout in Marbella, Spain, where he records his life story on a laptop computer. From his youth as a fatherless child in Hamburg's seedy Grosse Trampgang through his step-by-step successes selling magazines, life insurance, paper and finally investments, Walter frankly and philosophically recounts his dogged pursuit of wealth and privilege. He also takes time out to continue his ongoing study of Easter Island and play an occasional tennis game with his partner and fellow fugitive, Dembrowski. Beneath Walter's wry self-assurance, this well-crafted, anecdotal narrative explores literary, economic and existential questions, delivering vivid characterizations and engaging, humorous scenarios at the same time. Tegel's translation seems awkward in spots but conveys Timm's subtly layered tone and implications.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Peter Walter conducts a seemingly idyllic life: his fine house is in a beautiful area; his attractive family seems contented; his intellectual life combines scholarship and introspection. Yet tensions generated during his childhood in German slums and during his career as a fraudulent commodities trader undermine the serenity of his existence. Moreover, his uncle's interest in writing the story of Peter's life, an act that Peter perceives as sheer theft, poses a new threat to the protagonist-narrator's sense of self. The tone of the novel is highly conversational, salted with humor, bitterness, and pithy insights ("the species recovers by shrieking, the individual by laughter"); Peter frequently interrupts himself mid-anecdote with yet another story. Thus, he "steals" others' tales while "protecting" his own. This irony informs all aspects of the novel, by the German author of The Snake Tree (New Directions, 1990). It challenges as it entertains. Recommended for large collections.
- Jane S. Bakerman, Indiana State Univ., Terre Haute
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Jane S. Bakerman, Indiana State Univ., Terre Haute
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
