Gunter Grass was many things. A distinguished author, a poet, a playwright, an illustrator, a sculptor and most notably a Nobel Prize Literary Award Winner. Born in Poland, in the Free City of Danzig, Grass joined the German army as an Air Force helper. When he volunteered for submarine service he was rejected, he joined the Panzer Division. He was captured by the Allied Forces and was kept as a prisoner of war. On his release Grass took up work in a mine and learned the rudiments of stonemasonry. His studies took him to West Berlin where he continued with stone masonry and graphics, along with writing. Grass was a vociferous opponent to the construction of the Berlin Wall. Grass is most famous for his first book, The Tin Drum, published in 1959. Together with 'Cat and Mouse' and 'Dog Years' the three combine to form The Danzig Trilogy. This centres around the occupation of Danzig (now Gdansk) Peeling the Onion is a memoir of his life up to the publishing of The Tin Drum. Gunter Grass died on April 13, 2015 in Lübeck, Germany from a lung infection at the age of 87.
Book Review:This is a memoir by the author taking in his upbringing in Danzig, his presence in the German army and culminating in the writing and publishing of The Tin Drum, his most acclaimed work.
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