Wilki

by Hans Hellmut Kirst, Barbara Tarnas (Translator)

Has wear due to age of the book and shelf storage.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Germany, War, Roman, German Literature, Novels

509 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

A veteran from WW II, he wrote various novels focused on military life and the corruption in the army.


Hans Hellmut Kirst, der international erfolgreichste deutsche Autor der Nachkriegszeit, wurde am 5. Dezember 1914 in Osterode in Ostpreußen als Sohn eines Gendarmeriebeamten geboren. Von 1933 bis 1945 diente Kirst als Berufssoldat. Mit seiner später verfilmten Romantrilogie „08/15“, seinen Welterfolgen „Fabrik der Offiziere“ und „Die Nacht der Generäle“ fand Hans Hellmut Kirst auch literarisch große Anerkennung.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a Prussian village during WWII, and how the relationships between farmers and crafters, publican and mayor are turned inside out by the ugliness of Nazi politics, then war.

The main character is clever and good-hearted, but even he... well, I won't put any spoilers in. Suffice to say that the best, stoop to the worst.

But Kirst tells a tale of human nature and survival. And he does it very well. His description of the villagers, and the larger-than-life character of the local lord of the manor are excellent; as is the way he slowly lets out the reel of intertwined relationships.

The real heroism of the story doesn't become entirely evident until late in the novel, and even then, it is coloured with the darkness of war in Nazi Germany. I was slightly disappointed with the ending. It is difficult to articulate what disappointed me. I guess I would have liked something a little more hopeful, but maybe that would have been hard to do without a Hollywood type ending. Maybe, the author intended to leave me with that vaguely dissatisfied feeling...

[Serge]

To the excellent review by Linda I can only add: the saga of the village in East Prussia, then part of Germany, takes place over three distinct periods of history: during Hitler's takeover of power, just before the start of the Second World War, and just before the end of it. Kirst's usual style, short episodes alternating the main characters, fits the atmosphere of the novel perfectly. He shows very well the slow creep of Nazism into the minds of the population. As for the ending - too many of the characters seem converted to the good cause and the farewell speech is way too modern - but it is perfectly credible given the historic circumstances and the main character. (It is well known that the Soviet Red Army invaded what was to become part of Poland. For a good account of the "flight of the wolves" from East Prussia read "Aus Dem Dornbusch" by A.E. Johann.)

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hans Hellmut Kirst's The Wolves (aka The Foxes of Maulen) provides a seriocomic look at the experience of ordinary Germans under the Third Reich. Set in the small East Prussian town of Maulen, the book depicts twelve momentous years through the perspective of Alfons Materna, a mild-mannered farmer who is slowly radicalized by the Nazi threat: first his son, an SA cadet, loses his life in a training accident; then his wife leaves him for a local bureaucrat; his daughter marries the local party leader, the loathsome Eugen Eis; his surviving son becomes a fanatical National Socialist; his Jewish friend is arrested and deported. Under such circumstances, it's little wonder when Materna declares a one-man war on Hitler and his minions. The first 100 pages or so of the book are a repetitive and silly series of pranks played by Materna and his small circle of confederates on the local Nazis; afterwards the stakes become more serious, as the Nazis clamp down their power and the consequences for opposing fascism become more extreme. It's clear that Kirst, who admitted to being a "fanatical Nazi" during the war, uses the book both as a microcosm for the German experience with fascism, and through Materna an apologetic fantasy for how they should have responded to Hitler's Thousand Year Reich. Materna is a crafty trickster who outwits his foes through a mixture of blackmail, malicious compliance and legal finagling; when Eis and his goons resort to extreme measures he responds in kind, first creating an underground network that allows Jews and political dissidents free passage out of the country; in the final days of the war, he engages in acts of sabotage and targets officials for assassination. He's a man who refuses to be humiliated, but whose principles aren't moved until he's personally inconvenienced by fascism; readers must be decide whether they find his stand amusing, courageous or solipsistic. While not as effective as Kirst's Night of the Generals, it's still an engaging, enraging look at how easily a country can shut its eyes to evil, how men (and women) try to exploit its rise for their own ends, and how even the well-intentioned can only achieve so much when faced against an entire country. The lesson to readers, in December 2024, need not be overstressed.

[sergevernaillen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Een aanbeveling van mijn vader. Het lag al jaren in mijn kast en ben er nu maar aan begonnen.
In 3 grote delen vertelt Kirst de opgang en afgang van de nazi's en de SA in het bijzonder. Hij beperkt het verhaal tot een klein dorp in het toenmalige Oost-pruisen (ondertussen Polen).
Een goed uitgangspunt maar er stak me toch één en ander tegen. De taal kwam nogal verouderd en oubollig over. Het origineel is geschreven in 1967, de vertaling dateert van 1979.
Hier en daar werd er te veel uitgeweid en lag het leestempo nogal laag en ik vond de uitwerking van het verhaal ook niet echt waaw.
Maar ik heb wel weer één en ander bijgeleerd.
En ik vond het wel raar een boek te lezen van iemand die zelf actief was in het Duitse leger, lid was van de Nazi-partij en meevocht aan het Oostfront en dan nadien bekendheid verwierf door boeken te schrijven waarin hij de nazi's aan de kaak stelt.

[Ashley Roeder · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this for a class of mine; a Film class, where we had to decide what scenes (if any) would translate well into film. I cannot say enough how much I thoroughly disliked this book! There's far too many characters for 400 pages. The dialogue is choppy at best. There's absolutely no real action in this book. Any time you think you are starting to become interested, the chapter ends and never picks back up in the same spot. THIS WAS ONE OF THE WORST BOOKS I'VE READ IN MY LIFE!!

[Olga Lipińska · Rating 5 out of 5]

zastosuję metaforę kulinarną - ta książka, to jest chleb i wino. albo lepiej, chleb z oliwą i wino. to jest wszystko, czego potrzeba. podstawa.
polecam.
chociaż nie każdemu podpasuje. chleb jest suchy, wino wytrawne. ale po kilku rozdziałach można się w tym rozsmakować.

[Niuris Martín Rosabal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buen libro, divertido, inteligente y ameno. Es bueno para acercarse a un momento de la historia que tanto eco ha dejado en la humanidad. Todo ocurre en un pueblo y ese es uno de los mayores encantos del libro. El escritor ha estado magnífico en este libro. Hay q leerlo :)

[Graham Senders · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised at some of the directions that this story took. Which is a good thing. I guess it had to end when it did and in the way that it did.

[Juanra Eslava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mi primer libro, humor y buena ambientación en un pequeño pueblo alemán, tanto en el inicio, como progreso y final de la época nazi.

[Karl Wadsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent in all respects

[Bartłomiej · Rating 5 out of 5]

świetna książka!!!!!!