The Tin Drum by Günter Grass
The novel tells the story of Oskar Matzerath, a boy who decides on his third birthday that he will stop growing and remain a three-year-old forever. Oskar is gifted with a tin drum by his mother, which he uses to express his emotions and thoughts. Living in Danzig during the rise of Nazi Germany, Oskar's refusal to grow is a form of protest against the adult world. The book is a blend of magical realism and historical fiction, providing a unique perspective on the horrors of World War II and the post-war era in Germany.
The 84th greatest book of all time
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This book is on the following lists:
- 5th on Best German Novels of the Twentieth Century (Wikipedia)
- 6th on Kanon na koniec wieku (Canon at the end of the century) (Rzeczpospolita (newspaper))
- 7th on For The Love of Books (For The Love of Books)
- 8th on Robert McCrum's top 10 books of the twentieth century (The Guardian)
- 18th on 50 Classics You Must Read Before You Die (Gyldendal (Denmark Publisher))
- 34th on The 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century (Folha de São Paulo)
- 34th on In Which These Are the 100 Greatest Novels (ThisRecording.com)
- 35th on 100 Best Books (Montana State University)
- 38th on The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time (The Novel 100)
- 42nd on Our Users' Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 48th on Big Read (German) (Germany)
- 56th on The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read (Telegraph)
- 70th on The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time: The List (The Observer)
- 88th on Waterstone's Books of the Century (LibraryThing)
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- 50 Memorable Books from 50 Years of Books to Remember (The New York Public Library)
- Top 100 Works in World Literature (Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute)
- ZEIT-Bibliothek der 100 Bücher (Die Zeit)
- The 100 Best Books in the World (AbeBooks.de (in German))
- The Bigger Read List (English PEN)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- Der Kanon (The Canon) (Der Kanon)
- As if You Don't Have Enough to Read, Fiction Edition (New York Times)
- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon (The Western Canon (Book) by Harold Bloom)
- Zeit Literaturkanon (https://www.librarything.com/award/335/ZEIT-Literaturkanon)