Evening star., 1963-02-10

most original novel since II
few conspicuous prosecutors.
But what can be said at
once and clearly is that THE
Tin Drum" is great and noble
In theme and in proportions.
and that 1t Is carried out in
q great and noble manner.
Various talents have been
granted young contemporary
writers here and abroad-wit,
satire. a knack for CONVERSE
ton. the power of descrip-
ton, narrative skill, a sense
Of the identity of the individ-
ual. an insight beyond good
and evil-but what has been
rare a m on g writers Of the
last forty years is architec-
tural strength and cohesion.
The grand novel as opposed
to the merely long novel,
craftsmanship on a big scale
as opposed to the neat work.
ing of limited Specialties -
these are sought In vain by
the modern reader and per-
haps consciously eschewed by
many careful and self-crit-
ical noveliSts. Guenter Grass
takes the risk and quickens
our blood as we realize that
he is equal to his task.
"The Tin Drum" is the BIZ
ography Of Oscar. who wants
to retire from the world the
moment he is born but who
Is thwarted in this design by
a too quick cutting Of the
umbilical cord; thereupon
Oscar must Immediately de-
eide how best he can live the
life before him. At birth he
possesses a completely devel-
oped and mature mentality,
and he wills successfully to
stop growing physically on
his third birthday. and to
devote his time thereafter to
playing the tin drum he
overhears his father saying
will be given to him on that
anniversary. So he falls down
the cellar steps when he is
three in order to sustain the
injury of arrested physical
development. To the world a
tender child, Oscar is relieved
of many of the decisions and
responsibilities a dults find
their lot. In everything he
undertakes in the first thirty
years Of his life (the span
covered by the book he Is
always completely successful,
except in breaking the glass
of church windows. His in
ability to fail, as a matter of
fact, leads to the denouement
Of the book. Taking pity on
a friend torn by jealousy of
Oscars success friend who
mourns that his own name
is never in the newspaper
Oscar suggests that he de-
nounce him as the criminal
responsible for q famous
crime. Oscar. innocent, Is not
convicted but is put in q
mental institution where he
diverts himself with writing
THE Tin Drum"
1t Is as q drummer that
Oscar is pre-eminent. Drum
ming is his means of self
expression, his way Of life.
His drum music Is not only
intellectual and emotional, it
is also true program music;
through 1t he can not only
express sentiment, he can
tell any story. Having learnt
from his mentor, q circus
gnome, lfe's cardinal rule
that a mans place is not in
front Of a public rostrum, but
behind 1t. under 1t. or on 1t,
the child Oscar creeps under
a platform on which a Nazi
speaker is haranguing a
crowd Of Danzigers, and
around which a brass band
is playing military music. He
drums, in malice and also in
> love Of humanity. q Viennese
waltz. and soon the brass
instruments change to three
four time. the Brown-Shirts
grow shamefacedly silent and
descend the rostrum to the
public park to dance with the
populacel Papageno with his
bells has subjugated Mono
statos and his slavesl "Dds
klinDet so herrlichI"
This is only one stroke of
a blindingly brilliant imagi-
nation which never fails
Grass. There are many others
the conformation Of photos
Of Beethoven and Hitler.
both scowling. in a middle