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 82nd greatest book of all time
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Total Points: 2284
This book was first published in 1959
24 Lists
- score: 150 -- Top 100 Works in World Literature - 2002 (Weight: 150)
- score: 150 -- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2006 (Weight: 150)
- score: 150 -- For The Love of Books - 1999 (Weight: 150)
- score: 144 -- Best German Novels of the Twentieth Century - 1999 (Weight: 120)
- score: 120 -- 50 Memorable Books from 50 Years of Books to Remember - 2005 (Weight: 120)
- score: 117 -- The 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century - 1999 (Weight: 114)
- score: 108 -- ZEIT-Bibliothek der 100 Bücher - 2009 (Weight: 108)
- score: 102 -- The Bigger Read List - 2003 (Weight: 102)
- score: 96 -- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read - 2009 (Weight: 96)
- score: 95 -- In Which These Are the 100 Greatest Novels - 2011 (Weight: 93)
- score: 94 -- 50 Classics You Must Read Before You Die - 2024 (Weight: 90)
- score: 93 -- Robert McCrum's top 10 books of the twentieth century - 2000 (Weight: 87)
- score: 86 -- 100 Best Books - 2010 (Weight: 84)
- score: 85 -- Big Read (German) - 2004 (Weight: 84)
- score: 85 -- Kanon na koniec wieku (Canon at the end of the century) - 2002 (Weight: 78)
- score: 82 -- The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time - 2004 (Weight: 81)
- score: 81 -- The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time: The List - 2003 (Weight: 81)
- score: 78 -- Waterstone's Books of the Century - 1997 (Weight: 78)
- score: 75 -- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon - 1994 (Weight: 75)
- score: 72 -- As if You Don't Have Enough to Read, Fiction Edition - 2011 (Weight: 72)
- score: 70 -- The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read - 2009 (Weight: 69)
- score: 57 -- The 100 Best Books in the World - 2021 (Weight: 57)
- score: 57 -- Der Kanon (The Canon) - 2006 (Weight: 57)
- score: 33 -- Zeit Literaturkanon - 2012 (Weight: 33)