Wer einmal aus dem Blechnapf frißt

by Hans Fallada

Der Häftling Kufalt kann sein fünfjähriges Gefängnisleben nicht mit der Gefängniskluft abstreifen. Es bleibt an ihm haften, begleitet ihn auf Schritt und Tritt wie unsichtbar an ihn gekettet. Sein Leidensweg ins bürgerliche Dasein ist von den Vorurteilen seiner Umwelt begleitet. Es platzt die Verlobung und sein Traum von einer ehrbaren Existenz. Er, der ewige Pechvogel, bleibt ein Versager für die Bürger und für die Ganoven. Erleichtet geht er zurück ins Gefängnis: Nun hat er Ruhe - er ist zu Hause.

Genres: Fiction, German Literature, Classics, Germany, Novels, Mystery, Crime

585 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

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

Reviews

[Nicole~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Once A Jailbird (1934) or Wer einmal aus dem Blechnapf frißt (The World Outside)

He who once eats from the tin plate will eat from it again.

This grim novel is not merely about prison inmates and ex-convicts, but one using a social theme typical of Fallada, satirizing Hitler's New Germany with subtle criticism. It was published in 1934, just a year after the Nazi takeover, and so it's not surprising that Fallada might have subdued any political viewpoints.

Willi Kufalt, convicted of embezzlement and forgery, has served his time in prison and is released to work for his keep at a half way house, set up by the new regime. After five long arduous years, he's happy to be free and vows that once the grim gray prison walls are behind him, he will never lay eyes upon them again.

But, the world outside that Willi had dreamed of is not what he encounters - his efforts to reform are hampered by the stigma of his prison record, and he is made to feel an outcast, not fit to associate with his fellow man. Resigning himself to this miserable fate, he begins to drink heavily and returns to the one thing he knows - the life of crime. He realizes he does not understand the world outside, and soon he's back in the environment in which he feels quite at home.

Fallada also drew on his own real life experiences in creating his sympathetic antihero, Willie Kufalt: notably the drinking, white collar crime, imprisonment, and estrangement from his family. The novelist's cynical perception of an unforgiving society is quite clear, and although written for specific German social awareness, Once A Jailbird does have a modern and universal appeal. Some jailbirds of today may find an easier, cushier life being in prison than dealing with the outside world; to be honest, would a jailbird give up the roof over his head and the somewhat organized life he'd become accustomed to if he didn't have to?

How good it was to be back again. No more worries. Almost like home in the old days...It was better. Here a man could live in peace. The voices of the world were stilled. No making up your mind, no need for effort. Life proceeded duly and in order. He was utterly at home. And Willi Kufalt fell quietly asleep, with a peaceful smile on his lips.

Sweet dreams, Willi.

[Anatoly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 3rd novel by Hans Fallada that I`ve read and again I can say that he wrote a wonderful work of fiction. In this story Fallada tells the tragic, yet somewhat comic, tale of the newly released prisoner Willi Kufult. Although it is obvious throughout the book what the outcome will be for the unfortunate Willi, It is an interesting and moving novel, and not without hidden criticism toward the society including those who run it. Absolutely great!

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bleak portrayal of life in Weimar Germany between the wars. Willi Kufult comes out of prison into depression era Germany. Work is scarce, and for an ex-con doubly so. What we see is his desperate attempt to carve out a nrmal life for himself, against the odds.

Unremittingly dark and depressing, time and time again Kufult is beaten down just as it looks like he may escape his fate. Fallada illustrates how hard life was. An interesting rather than an enjoyable book.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably one of the most tragic books I've ever read. Not that it was filled to the brim with constant death or anything like that. It's just that I could practically feel Willi Kufalt's exhaustion rising up from the pages. Ex-convicts have rough lives to begin with, and this book makes it obvious that it was even worst in 1930s Germany. The characterization was spot on. This desperate guy, struggling to make his way in the world, but having to resort to crime again and again because it was the only way he could survive - it's just the most upsetting thing. I definitely grew attached to him. And I think it goes to show just how sad it is, that I actually hoped Willi would go back to prison, because at least he knew how to survive there.

The plot was so well done. Really, Fallada did not let any detail escape him. He covered every intricate moment, thought of every little thing that might ruin Willi a bit more. The complexity of Willi's thoughts amazed me. His reasoning, his doubts, and then his actual actions. He was reckless in the most planned out ways. Everything he did seemed real and understandable. And Fallada also did his research. I know far more about typing agencies and net making than I ever expected (though it probably wasn't that hard for him, considering he lived in Germany at that time).

The novel itself was just written beautifully. There was a sort of raw style to it - the descriptions were lovely, but also sad. It's a book that made me want to huddle beneath blankets all the time and never have to face the world.

Overall, I just adored Once a Jailbird. Wonderful, wonderful novel.

[Jürgen Zeller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mittlerweile mein drittes Buch von Hans Fallada das ich gelesen habe und es wird ganz gewiss nicht mein letztes von ihm gewesen sein. Erneut hat mich dieses authentische Erzählen eines Zeugen seiner Zeit ans Buch gefesselt und überzeugt. Diesmal ist die Hauptfigur der (Ex-) Gefängnisinsasse Willi Kufalt der sich nach mehreren Jahren im Knast nach der Entlassung in der neugewonnen Freiheit zurechtfinden muss. Wobei "neugewonnen" der falsche Ausdruck ist. Es fühlt sich nicht wie ein Gewinn an wenn er nun versucht ein selbstbestimmtes Leben zu führen und durchs Leben strauchelt. Mit seiner Vorgeschichte bzw. Vorstrafen ist es gar nicht so einfach ein redliches Leben zu führen. Es werden ihm aber auch allerhand Stolpersteine in den Weg gelegt die seinen Freiraum und Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten arg einengen. Ausserdem ist die schwere Zeit zwischen den beiden Weltkriegen im Deutschland der 1930er Jahre und der wirtschaftlichen Krise alles andere als optimal um in der bürgerlichen Gesellschaft dauerhaft Fuss zu fassen.

Hans Fallada hat in der Zeit gelebt von der er schreibt. Es ist kein angelesenes oder recherchiertes Wissen sondern echtes durch Lebenserfahrung erworbenes Wissen und dies unterscheidet ihn von der grossen Mehrheit der Autoren Historischer Romane. Wie er im Anhang erklärt, musste er sogar fünf Monate im Gefängnis ein Haftstrafe verbüssen und hat da Beobachtungen gemacht, die er in diesen Roman mit einfliessen liess. Die Wahrnehmung eines jeden Lesers ist anders, aber für mich ist diese Geschichte authentisch und die Figuren sind derart waschecht gezeichnet, dass man sie leicht als Originale ihrer Epoche wahrnimmt.

Hans Fallada hatte die Freiheit, Szenen genau so lange zu schreiben bis er sie für ausreichend auserzählt hielt. Keine konditionierten literarischen Vorgaben seitens des Verlags sondern echtes Erzählen alter Schule ganz auf den Bedarf des Verfassers ausgerichtet. In diesem Fall sind es rund 580 Seiten geworden. Ein paar Längen sind deutlich zu erkennen und ein paar Passagen die es nicht unbedingt gebraucht hätte und ich tue das, was mir innerlich widerstrebt. Ich ziehe dafür einen Stern in der Gesamtwertung ab. Das ist aber ehrlich gemeint und nur ein kleiner Schatten über einer ansonsten tollen Geschichte.

Keine Ahnung, ob es den Begriff "Volksliteratur" gibt. Falls ja, gehört dieses Buch definitiv dazu. Falls nein, sollte man das Genre für die Werke Falladas erfinden. Keine abgehobene, hochgeistige Ergüsse sondern eher einfach lesbare literarische Kost für die Frau und den Mann aus dem Volke mit Geschichten von den kleinen Leuten aus dem Volke. Lesenswert!

[Adam McPhee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emil Bruhn; eleven years a slave, friendly, hard-working, with such few and trifling claims on life: the pictures, a girl and a modest job. And what had been the end of it all? An ex-convict was always an ex-convict. The most humane punishment would be to hang them all on the spot.

I understand the urge to abridge Hans Fallada, given that he has a tendency to overwrite, but it occasionally felt like something important was missing in this translation by Eric Sutton.

Still, every stage of Willi Kufalt's life -- his final days in prison before release, his life at a crooked halfway house, his establishment of a typing agency with his fellow excons and it's subsequent collapse, life in boarding houses, the crooked world of smalltown newspapers, his engagement to a glazier's daughter, and the thrilling collapse back into crime that includes a jewellery heist and prurient purse-snatching -- all feel like believable, realized worlds.

The book is grim. Maybe the grimmest I've seen from Fallada, aside from Alone in Berlin. There there's no question over whether Willi will end up back in jail, it's only a matter of time.

In an interesting historical note, Fallada's biographer Jenny Williams wrote that by the time the manuscript for the book was finished in 1933, Fallada understood he had to tread carefully so as not to upset Germany's new aryan overlords. But he was too naive to self-censor his depiction of a single mother, a homosexual relationship and a prison system badly in need of reform. So instead he wrote a half-assed introduction assuring readers that these problems had only existed in the old Germany and that the Nazis had already fixed all of this. His writing got him condemned and eventually denounced by the Nazis, while Thomas Mann sneered at him from his Swiss opera box for having made even the smallest compromise.

(Also, apparently the part in chapter ten where Willi is shown kicked out of school early by a pastor for having dared to meet with a girl who he'll never get to see again comes directly from Fallada's own life, explaining why it barely fits into the rest of the book.)

[Marin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was gripped by the first half of the book - the author knew how to tell a story and I followed every detail, curious to see where is going, despite the title, which was a spoiler alert.
In the second part, the main character which almost got himself out of the predicament takes a sudden 180 degree turn to prove the title. His actions are less credible despite the predictability suggested the title.
I know that the book wanted to reflect a sad reality, the sometimes impossible reintegration of the former convicts in the society, but I felt the story was finally too didactical.

[Umberto Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein sehr gut gemachtes Buch, dessen Inhalt den Titel perfekt aufgreift. Eine lustige, traurige, wütend machende Auseinandersetzung mit Strafgefangenen nach ihrer Entlassung. Ein wunderbares Milieubild des Hamburgs der Vorkriegszeit. Es zieht sich leider an einigen Stellen, aber es ist trotzdem sehr, sehr gut geschrieben. Während eines lesemarathons begonnen, habe ich das Buch innerhalb eines Tages zu 65% gelesen. Und auch die letzten 50 Seiten rattern sich so weg. Es ist mein erster Fallada- Roman, aber definitiv nicht mein letzter.

[Cooper Renner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the several Fallada books I've read, the classics are Every Man Dies Alone and Little Man What Now? Once a Jailbird is good, but no more. It reminded me in some ways of Döblin's Alexanderplatz Berlin, which is a much stronger and more artistic book.

[Dario Holz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein toller Roman, der einen guten Einblick in die damalige Zeit gibt. Auch fast 100 Jahre nach Veröffentlichung immer noch gut zu lesen

[Ralph Britton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel makes an interesting contrast to Doblin's Berlin Alexanderplatz. Both deal with a convict who wants to go straight after a sentence and eventually fails because the society he re-enters makes it near impossible for him to find and keep a decent job, and because prison has damaged his psyche so that he cannot really believe in his own ability not to relapse.
However they could hardly be more different. Instead of Doblin's hallucinatory expressionist Berlin and repellent hero, Fallada's story is simple, down to earth and realistic, his central character a man who could have had an ordinary life if circumstances had not been against him. He is weak but only becomes brutal after a bruising encounter with injustice. Fallada's is obviously the lesser novel and not Fallada's best either, but he tells a good story, his characters are totally convincing and his analysis of his hero, Willi Kufalt's poisoned psyche fascinating.
Fallada knew what he was writing about. He had spent several years in prison, becoming a 'trusty' - he had worked as a bookeeper, like Willi Kufalt and had narrowly avoided the same fate. He wrote partly as an attack on the prison system and its failure to help rehabilitate prisoners. The only thing offered is working in a sweatshop endorsed by the Church which takes advantage of the fact that the ex-prisoners can get no other work to keep their wages at starvation level. The author's sure grip on his material makes this a very readable novel and much of it still applies to more than the prisons of the Weimar Republic.

[Danny Marcalo · Rating 4 out of 5]

After "Everyman Dies Alone", this was my second Fallada novel. There are a few themes that both books share. Firstly, and most prominently, this text as well as the other one, shows the baseness some people are able to express towards others. Mostly Fallada's hero Kufalt experiences this baseness when he meets the average guy, who lets him know that Kufalt feel all his disgust toward him, the former inmate. However, Kufalt is not without fault. This is a man, who is incompetent, but believes himself to be very smart. Also, he is lazy and tries to find short cuts. His biggest problem however is that he blames almost all his faults and failures on others and ins unwilling or incapable to accept responsibility for himself. This is why he fails in life . Society in the 30s, as much as today, is one that rewards only those who work hard. Fallada certainly has a valid point of criticism in his work, because the degree of work expected is often too high. In a society that only focusses on progress there is much opportunity for many to be left behind and that can be brutal. Already 80 years ago Fallada was aware of that, unfortunately he has not really been listened to, to this day.

[Milan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zo slovenčinárskeho hľadiska veľmi podnetné a obohacujúce čítanie, výsledok hrdinského nasadenia prekladateľky Šarloty Baránikovej, ktorá stála pred úlohou pretlmočiť väzenský slang z tridsiatych rokov v Nemecku do slovenského literárneho kontextu sedemdesiatych rokov a po ďalších štyridsiatich rokoch výsledok na írečitosti nijako nestratil, hoci, prirodzene, tolerancia k bohemizmom sa tu zavše naťahuje za hranice únosnosti, ale napokon, basmani si na redakciu nepotrpia. Oveľa väčšmi si na ňu potrpel autor doslovu Peter Hrivnák, u ktorého je až úsmevná úpornosť, s akou sa usiluje pretláčať dobovo falošnú interpretáciu diela do opozície jedinec vs. spoločnosť, no vzápätí mu odborná poctivosť nedovoľuje zatajiť skutočnosť, že tak to vôbec nie je, že kniha je oveľa komplexnejším obrazom psychológie trestanca, než len akousi jednorozmernou obžalobou buržoázie. A tak to ide veta za vetou. Žiaľ na obálku sa dostalo práve toto videnie. Pravda je taká, že hlavnou témou knihy je, ehm, deterministická netrpezlivosť, pud stále a znova vystreľujúci ponad všetky skúsenosti, tlak spoločnosti či diktát histórie. Alebo: Čo robiť, keď jediné správne je jediné nesprávne?

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an epic of a novel, another one of Hans Fallada's excursions into the depths of humans beings utterly vile to one another and the futile fight of man against the system. There is no redemption and there is no way you can crawl out of your situation, everything is ultimately doomed. But, despite the relentlessness of human misery, there is a tiny glimmer of hope for the main character(s), and there are moments when you cheer out loud,'you can do it..' and for those fractions of seconds when they succeed, you are laughing and crying with them...but you know that a big cloud will eventually come crashing down. Fallada is a master of infusing his characters with life and the plot is so vivid that you can see it roll before your eyes. The book would make an excellent film, it is all there jumping up from the page, grabbing you from the throat, the heart and lifting you up for miliseconds before it all comes crashing down...But you don't regret a single line of Fallads' beautiful humane prose. A rough gem indeed, a true contender for 4.5 stars.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title says it all. Willi Kufalt is in prison as the book opens, looking forward to his imminent release. But life on the outside turns out to be in many ways harder than life on the inside. Whenever it seems things are beginning to go his way, his past catches up with him and life once again defeats him. It’s a sad little story, very much rooted in its time and place – Germany of the 1920s and 30s – but much of it still seems very relevant. Without support and opportunities for employment very often going back to jail doesn't seem such a bad option. This is not one of Fallada’s best books but it’s very readable and enjoyable; a bit too long perhaps but nonetheless I very much enjoyed it and felt deeply for poor Willi Kufalt.

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is no escaping the past, certainly not for Willi Kufalt. No matter how far he goes or how much he tries life just refuses to be fair. Fallada draws you masterfully into this story of trial and desperation; despite all of Kufalt's mistakes you want him to prevail, to overcome.

As a critique of the German parole system in the first half of the twentieth century Once a Jailbird instills in you a desire for reform and redemption, a jailbird does not always need to be a jailbird. As a description of life the novel honestly and unapologetically reveals the trials and temptations that anyone may fall victim to.

[Jeff Buddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Willi Kufalt can’t catch a break. Released from prison, he tries to go straight but an ex-con just doesn't get a fair shake in 1930s Germany where he’s forced to work for half what he’s worth, mistrusted by cops, and picked up for crimes he didn't commit. And just when things seem to be going good (he’s got a job, a girlfriend, and rich prospects) things fall apart. This is my first Hans Fallada novel and it’s great, a perfectly tuned chronicle of the down-and-out and the frustrations of trying to make it in a world dead set against you. If “Once a Jailbird” is one of Fallada’s lesser works, I can’t wait to read “Every Man Dies Alone,” which is supposed to be his masterpiece.

[Eva Hnizdo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book first in Czech translation as a 15y old, and then in German age about 30. I loved it. The way it shows the entrapment of a certain lifestyle of crime, prison, but in symbol of any entrapment makes it a masterpiece.
The sadness of the fact that going back to prison is a relief...and how difficult it is for people when they get out of prison not to get into a situation of being sentenced to prison again. It was written in 1934, but I think the story is as relevant now aas it was then.

[Celia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in this book. I enjoyed very much Fallada's book Everyone Dies Alone.

This book I found very hard to follow-it may be the translation. I had a hard time figuring who said what. There may have been a lot of German slang used in the book which was hard to translate.

There was not much suspense because you know things are going to go well for the main characters.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Fallada.

This is the book that got him placed on the SS' undesirable author list and it's evident why. The absolute dehumanization of the incarcerated while in prison and after their release can't be missed while you follow Willi out of prison and back into the real world of unemployment and civilians more than willing to belittle and take advantage of him. Originally released to critical acclaim, its messages continue to ring true today. Well worth the read.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man is released from a prison in the 1930s and tries to make a new life for himself in Hamburg.

I found this to be an unsatisfying read. The plot was bogged down in low level detail (making the pace very slow) and the language was dry / academic in nature (but this make have been the translation).

I didn’t enjoy it as much as ‘Alone in Berlin’.

[Asl4u · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Good characters - good story... good mental representations... lots of hope and frustration and then self realization... nice apropo ending - even though you wouldnt think it in the beginning or in the during but you come to know the characters so well you feel the same peace at the end as the person in question. All is well in the world.

[Sylvie Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book didn't have as much impact as 'Alone in Berlin' but was still a good read. Set in pre-Nazi Germany it tells the story of a petty thief trying to make it on the outside. Quite humorous in places,and dark in others, I would recommend it.

[Daniel Mittag · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beschreibt die Sinnlosigkeit des derzeitigen Strafrechts, da einen das Gefängnis zum Gefängsnisinsassen erzieht anstatt zu einem reintegrierten Teil der Gesellschaft. Es tauchen auch Fragen auf, die Tolstoy schon behandelt hat: wieso hat der eine das Recht, den anderen zu verurteilen?

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was much too long. Could stand some editing.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a fan of Hans Fallada's books. His style is straightforward and he fills out his characters very well. The unsettling, depressing, smarmy atmosphere created in this book is populated with criminals, some 'born' to it, some by circumstance, trying to make their way both in and out of jail. Constantly hoping their jail records don't ruin their chances at life, they are relegated to scramble and hustle for a living through the underside of the city.
Fallada builds his plot slowly and with great detail especially with his main character, Willi. His inner musings and conundrums lend a bit of sympathy to the character as he tries to go straight. He is up against nearly insurmountable odds and at war within himself constantly running from his mistakes.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
"As Willi tries to make a new life for himself in Hamburg, finding a job and even love, he still cannot escape his past. Gradually he becomes sucked into a world of drink, desperation and deceit and, with one terrible act, he is ensnared in a noose of his own making. . . ."

This is from the back of the book. A terrible, simplistic description. The dunderhead who wrote it must have only read the last hundred pages. This is more about how difficult it is to change once you have been in jail. The world is against you and the easiest choice is going back to jail.

Not as good as Alone in Berlin or Wolf among Wolves.

[solitaryfossil · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second book by Hans Fallada, and I was not disappointed with this one. Gritty and realistic, his character writing was superb, and the plot was interesting throughout and never faltered. A really wonderful piece of writing, with a graphic and genuine look at the hard life during the 1920s in Germany.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent author--I found the book a bit long however a wonderful novel. My 4th book by Fallada and I really enjoy his style.

[Justin Sarginson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overlong, but sufficiently bleak and morose throughout to entertain and stimulate.
For me, not his best book but still a very articulated and enjoyable read.