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Maven Books

Reviews about historical, literary, classic, and other fiction.  Miscellaneous book things.

Currently reading

Anne of Green Gables
L.M. Montgomery
Complete Short Stories (Virago Modern Classics)
Joanna Kingham, Elizabeth Taylor

A Stranger in my Own Country: The 1944 Prison Diary by Hans Fallada

A Stranger in My Own Country: The 1944 Prison Diary - Hans Fallada

An interesting view of Hans Fallada's experiences in Nazi Germany, including how he was considered an "undesirable writer" by the Nazis, faced a great deal of trouble from this and minor scuffles with Party members, and how his work was affected over the years.

 

That said, this book would probably only be of interest to someone who has read at least some of Fallada's work, and is curious about him as a person as well as a writer.  It gives a glimpse into how he crafted his stories and characters, sometimes borrowing from real life.  But it also shows the fallibility of human memory and what motivates us, as the editors note the inaccuracies and adjustments Fallada made as he wrote and later edited this diary.