Hans Fallada is a German legend. A master of 20th century literature. He died in 1947 after a life of addiction to morphine and some serious depression. I mean, I thought I knew depression until I read about what Fallada did when he was 18-years-old. He and his friend had just reached the legal drinking age and already they wanted to throw in the towel. They thought they would stage a duel to mask their suicides but Fallada's friend was a shocker with weapons and missed Fallada completely. Fallada, however, shot the silver bullet and totally killed his friend. Overwhelmed with sadness Fallada then took his now-dead-friend's gun and tried to shoot himself! He hit himself in the chest but survived. The man was a magnet for tragedy henceforth.
Fallada's troubled life wasn't in vain though. He had prolific career, channelling his struggles into a long list of novels. Little did he know it wouldn't be until after he kicked the bucket that he'd receive the attention he always deserved. Here we are in 2013 obsessed with the man.
Independent Australian publisher Scribe have selected three of his works and republished them with beautiful design work by art director Miriam Rosenbloom. The red cover book is Fallada's Little Man, What Now? (RRP $22.95), which is a story about a young German surviving an economic crisis. Wolf among Wolves (RRP $27.95) has a blue cover and is the story of a gambler who flees to the countryside and finds romance. The yellow cover is The Drinker (RRP $22.95). This story was discovered after Fallada's death and is an “astonishing, autobiographical tour de force” that is “fierce, poignant, and extremely funny.” Buy two or more from this Mondrian tryptic and Scribe will also send you a Hans Fallada tote bag! Thanks to Scribe we have one book from the series, plus that mind-blowing tote to give away! To enter, just answer the following question.
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION
The Hans Fallada pun that gets me through the day is:
a) Many Hans make light work
b) I hope his work doesn't Fallada favour again
c) M*A*S*H: World War II starring Alan Fallalda
d) Pride goeth before the Fallada
Send your answer, name and mailing address to
brisbane.win@thethousands.com.au. The winner will be notified by email.
Australian Competitions Club
