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Zaungast.

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89 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2002

2 people are currently reading
20 people want to read

About the author

Siegfried Lenz

281 books147 followers
Siegfried Lenz (1926 - 2014) was a German author who wrote twelve novels and produced several collections of short stories, essays, and plays for radio and the theatre. He was awarded the Goethe Prize in Frankfurt-am-Main on the 250th Anniversary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's birth. Lenz and his wife, Liselotte, also exchanged over 100 letters with Paul Celan and his wife, Gisèle Lestrange between 1952 and 1961.

Lenz was the son of a customs officer in Lyck (Elk), East Prussia. After his graduation exam in 1943, he was drafted into the navy. According to documents released in June 2007, he may have joined the Nazi party on the 12th of July 1943. Shortly before the end of World War II, he defected to Denmark, but became a prisoner of war in Schleswig-Holstein.

After his release, he attended the University of Hamburg, where he studied philosophy, English, and Literary history. His studies were cut off early, however, as he became an intern for the daily paper Die Welt, and served as its editor from 1950 to 1951. It was there he met his future wife, Liselotte (d. February 5, 2006). They were married in 1949.

Since 1951, Lenz worked as a freelance writer in Hamburg and was a member of the literature forum "Group 47." Together with Günter Grass, he became engaged with the Social Democratic Party and aided the Ostpolitik of Willy Brandt. A champion of the movement, he was invited in 1970 to the signing of the German-Polish Treaty.

Since 2003, Lenz was a visiting professor at the Düsseldorf Heinrich Heine University and a member of the organization for German orthography and proper speech.

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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Profile Image for Max.
18 reviews
January 28, 2024
manchmal stundenlange, manchmal ein tag andauernde, manchmal längere geschichten aus der perspektive des beobachters. durch die schreibweise fühlt man sich jedes mal von beginn an in die situationen geholt und verweilt dort gerne.

schöne kurzgeschichten zum miterleben!
187 reviews
August 18, 2021
Schöne Geschichten in einer aus der Zeit gefallenen, poetischen Sprache geschrieben. Wunderbare Kaminlektüre!
Profile Image for John Hatley.
1,383 reviews232 followers
February 20, 2012
With his unique humour, Mr Lenz describes several situations of what it's like to be a "spectator".
Profile Image for Johanna.
282 reviews
November 18, 2017
Die erste Kurzgeschichte hat mich komplett verwirrt (bin nicht sicher, ob es die Geschichte war oder mein Deutsch-Niveau), die mittlere waren okay und die zwei letzte fand ich erstaunlich!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews

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