Cat And Mouse

The setting is Danzig during World War II. The narrator recalls a boyhood scene in which a black cat pounces on his friend Mahlke’s “mouse”-his prominent Adam’s apple. This incident sets off a wild series of events that ultimately leads to Mahlke’s becoming a national hero. Translated by Ralph Manheim. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book
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"A brilliantly realized story... At the deepest level, Mr. Grass resumes here the underlying theme of his famous first novel, 'The Tin Drum'--the survival of individual human qualities in this age of wars and state-directed politics." -- The New York Times Book Review

"The strongest most inventic writer to have emerged in Germany since 1945. Much of what is active in the Germany of Krupp and the Munich beer halls lies in this man's ribald keeping." Commentary