Wolf among Wolves
Hans Fallada
‘An unmissably brilliant portrait of Berlin before the Nazis.’
The Times
Wolf among Wolves is a sweeping saga of the collapse of a culture — its economy and government — and the common man’s struggle to survive it all. Set in Weimar Germany soon after Germany’s catastrophic loss of World War I, the story follows a young gambler, Wolfgang Pagel, who loses everything in Berlin, then flees the chaotic city, where worthless money and shortages are causing pandemonium. Once in the countryside, however, Pagel finds a defeated German army that has decamped there to foment insurrection. Somehow, amidst it all, he finds romance.
Fast-moving as a thriller, fascinating as the best historical fiction, and with lyrical prose that packs a powerful emotional punch, Wolf among Wolves is an immensely absorbing work of literature.
Media highlights:
Hear an interview with Fallada’s biographer on ABC Radio National ‘Arts and Books Daily’, and read reviews of his work in The Australian, The Age and The Melbourne Review.
Reviews
‘[A]n impressive panorama of the state of German society … dozens of characters from all walks of life contribute to a group portrait of remarkable power. The narrative moves from gambling dens to police cells, from crumbling aristocratic manor houses to the plush apartments of the high bourgeoisie; from seedy rooming houses to picturesque country inns.’
Andrew Riemer, Sydney Morning Herald
‘It is epic both because of its length at 755 pages, and its masterful scope of characters and setting, from a Berlin that radiates with the heat of moral corruption and stratospheric inflation to a countryside which might be an idyllic haven if not for its villains, both aristocratic and labourers.’
Tali Lavi, Melbourne Review
» All reviews for this title‘His most ambitious novel … deeply moving … he has evoked more than one can bear in comfort, but not more than it is necessary to learn, to keep and to understand.’
Alfred Kazin, The New York Times
