Hans Fallada’s Followers (756)

Hans Fallada

Born

in Greifswald, Germany

July 21, 1893

Died

February 05, 1947

Website

http://www.fallada.de/

Genre

Fiction, Humor and Comedy

Influences

Charles Dickens Gustave Flaubert Fyodor Dostoyevsky ...more

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Hans Fallada, born Rudolf Wilhelm Adolf Ditzen in Greifswald, was one of the most famous German writers of the 20th century. His novel, Little Man, What Now? is generally considered his most famous work and is a classic of German literature. Fallada's pseudonym derives from a combination of characters found in the Grimm fairy tales: The protagonist of Lucky Hans and a horse named Falada in The Goose Girl.

He was the child of a magistrate on his way to becoming a supreme court judge and a mother from a middle-class background, both of whom shared an enthusiasm for music and to a lesser extent, literature. Jenny Williams notes in her biography, More Lives than One that Fallada's father would often read aloud to his children the works authors i Hans Fallada, born Rudolf Wilhelm Adolf Ditzen in Greifswald, was one of the most famous German writers of the 20th century. His novel, Little Man, What Now? is generally considered his most famous work and is a classic of German literature. Fallada's pseudonym derives from a combination of characters found in the Grimm fairy tales: The protagonist of Lucky Hans and a horse named Falada in The Goose Girl.

He was the child of a magistrate on his way to becoming a supreme court judge and a mother from a middle-class background, both of whom shared an enthusiasm for music and to a lesser extent, literature. Jenny Williams notes in her biography, More Lives than One that Fallada's father would often read aloud to his children the works authors including Shakespeare and Schiller (Williams, 5).

In 1899 when Fallada was 6, his father relocated the family to Berlin following the first of several promotions he would receive. Fallada had a very difficult time upon first entering school in 1901. As a result, he immersed himself in books, eschewing literature more in line with his age for authors including Flaubert, Dostoyevsky, and Dickens. In 1909 the family relocated to Leipzig following his father's appointment to the Imperial Supreme Court.

A rather severe road accident in 1909 (he was run over by a horse-drawn cart, then kicked in the face by the horse) and the contraction of typhoid in 1910 seem to mark a turning point in Fallada's life and the end of his relatively care-free youth. His adolescent years were characterized by increasing isolation and self-doubt, compounded by the lingering effects of these ailments. In addition, his life-long drug problems were born of the pain-killing medications he was taking as the result of his injuries. These issues manifested themselves in multiple suicide attempts. In 1911 he made a pact with his close friend, Hanns Dietrich, to stage a duel to mask their suicides, feeling that the duel would be seen as more honorable. Because of both boys' inexperience with weapons, it was a bungled affair. Dietrich missed Fallada, but Fallada did not miss Dietrich, killing him. Fallada was so distraught that he picked up Dietrich's gun and shot himself in the chest, but miraculously survived. Nonetheless, the death of his friend ensured his status as an outcast from society. Although he was found innocent of murder by way of insanity, from this point on he would serve multiple stints in mental institutions. At one of these institutions, he was assigned to work in a farmyard, thus beginning his lifelong affinity for farm culture.

While in a sanatorium, Fallada took to translation and poetry, albeit unsuccessfully, before finally breaking ground as a novelist in 1920 with the publication of his first book Young Goedeschal. During this period he also struggled with morphine addiction, and the death of his younger brother in the first World War.

In the wake of the war, Fallada worked several farmhand and other agricultural jobs in order to support himself and finance his growing drug addictions. Before the war, Fallada relied on his father for financial support while writing; after the German defeat he was no longer able, nor willing, to depend on his father's assistance. Shortly after the publication of Anton and Gerda, Fallada reported to prison in Greiswald to serve a 6-month sentence for stealing grain from his employer and selling it to support his drug habit. Less than 3 years later, in 1926, Fallada again found himself imprisoned as a result of a drug and alcohol-fueled string of thefts from employers. In February 1928 he finally emerged free of addiction.

Fallada married Suse Issel in 1929 and maintained a string of respectable jobs in journalism, working for newspapers and eventually for the publisher of his novels, Rowohlt. It is around this time that his novels became noticeably political and started to comment ...more

Combine Editions
Hans Fallada’s books

Average rating: 4.15 · 53,897 ratings · 5,783 reviews · 213 distinct works • Similar authors

	Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada, Michael Hofmann (Translator), Geoff Wilkes (Afterword) 4.27 avg rating — 36,017 ratings — published 1947	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Little Man, What Now? by Hans Fallada, Susan Bennett (Translator) 4.02 avg rating — 6,316 ratings — published 1932 — 194 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Drinker by Hans Fallada, Charlotte Lloyd (Translation), A.L. Lloyd (Translation) 4.10 avg rating — 3,297 ratings — published 1950 — 107 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	تقرير موضوعي عن سعادة مدمن المورفين by Hans Fallada, هانس فالادا, سمير جريس (ترجمة) 3.43 avg rating — 1,807 ratings — published 1991 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nightmare in Berlin by Hans Fallada, Allen Blunden (Translator) 3.82 avg rating — 1,421 ratings — published 1947 — 67 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wolf Among Wolves by Hans Fallada, Philip Owens (Translator) 4.15 avg rating — 940 ratings — published 1937	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Why Do You Wear a Cheap Watch? 3.50 avg rating — 910 ratings — published 1931 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Der eiserne Gustav: Roman 4.28 avg rating — 498 ratings — published 1938 — 63 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Once a Jailbird 3.95 avg rating — 434 ratings — published 1934 — 77 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Small Circus 3.54 avg rating — 425 ratings — published 1931 — 73 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Hans Fallada…

Series by Hans Fallada

Wolf unter Wölfen (2 books)
by

Hans Fallada,

Ιωάννα Αβραμίδου (Translator)

4.16 avg rating — 1,073 ratings

Der eiserne Gustav (2 books)
by

Hans Fallada

4.28 avg rating — 500 ratings

Ein Mann will nach oben (2 books)
by

Hans Fallada,

Walter Brendel (Illustrations)

4.24 avg rating — 352 ratings

I en ulvetid (3 books)
by

Hans Fallada,

Hans Heiberg (Translator)

0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings

Quotes by Hans Fallada (?)

“As it was, we all acted alone, we were caught alone, and every one of us will have to die alone. But that doesn’t mean that we are alone.”
― Hans Fallada, Every Man Dies Alone

102 likes

“Not that she's a political animal, she's just an ordinary woman, but as a woman she's of the view that you don't bring children into the world to have them shot.”
― Hans Fallada, Every Man Dies Alone

tags: children, politics, war, women

76 likes

“It doesn't matter if one man fights or ten thousand; if the one man sees he has no option but to fight, then he will fight, whether he has others on his side or not.”
― Hans Fallada, Every Man Dies Alone

48 likes

See all Hans Fallada's quotes »

Polls

Which book would you like to read for our June group read?

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller

29 votes 33.3%

Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada

23 votes 26.4%

The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers

20 votes 23.0%

Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym

15 votes 17.2%

87 total votes

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Hans Fallada’s Followers (756)

Hans Fallada

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Combine Editions
Hans Fallada’s books