When I am working on an epic-length book, the writing process is fairly long. It takes from four to five years to get through all the drafts. The book is done when I am exhausted. Gunter Grass bookdraftepic Change image and share on social
How did it happen that an enlightened country like Germany was pulled into Nazism? That question has occupied me since 'The Tin Drum,' my first book. The story also shows that we can never know how a person's life will unfold; there is no guarantee that a person will do what is right and avoid what is not right. Gunter Grass avoidbookcountry share on social
What I do is sometimes - at least in Germany - met with wounding campaigns. I always face the question: should I grow myself a thick skin and ignore it, or should I let myself be wounded? I've decided to be wounded, since, if I grew a thick skin, there are other things I wouldn't feel any more. Gunter Grass campaigndecideface share on social
I was assigned to the Waffen-SS but was never involved in any crime. Besides, I always felt the need to write about my experiences in a larger context one day. This has only developed recently, now that I have overcome my inner aversion to writing an autobiography in the first place, specifically one having to do with my younger years. Gunter Grass assignautobiographyaversion share on social
I can only write a book like 'The Tin Drum' or 'From the Diary of a Snail' at a special period of my life. The books came about because of how I felt and thought at the time. Gunter Grass bookdiarydrum Change image and share on social
We already have the statistics for the future: the growth percentages of pollution, overpopulation, desertification. The future is already in place. Gunter Grass desertificationfuturegrowth Change image and share on social
It is a wonderful thing in the process of writing when such paper characters are first sketched, and, when one is doing good work, from a certain point in time they come alive and start contradicting the author as well. Gunter Grass aliveauthorcharacter share on social
Everybody knows how fallible memory can sometimes be. You remember certain fragments precisely, but as soon as you try to join the fragments together, for a story, there is a certain - not falsification, but a shifting. Gunter Grass falliblefalsificationfragment share on social
I have seen and drawn dying, poisoned worlds. I published a book of drawings called 'Death of Wood' about one such world, on the border between the Federal Republic of Germany and what was then still the German Democratic Republic. Gunter Grass bookbordercall share on social
Often I had to imagine the things I needed. I learned very early to read amidst noise. And so I started writing and drawing at an early age. Gunter Grass ageamidstdraw Change image and share on social