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Book Reviews of The Hothouse: A Novel

The Hothouse: A Novel
The Hothouse A Novel
Author: Wolfgang Koeppen
ISBN-13: 9780393049022
ISBN-10: 0393049027
Publication Date: 6/2001
Pages: 224
Rating:
  • Currently 2.2/5 Stars.
 3

2.2 stars, based on 3 ratings
Publisher: W. W. Norton Company
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

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eadieburke avatar reviewed The Hothouse: A Novel on + 1638 more book reviews
Book Description
A masterpiece by a writer long neglected in America, The Hothouse created a literary stir when it appeared in hardcover. Evoking comparisons to works by James Joyce and Malcolm Lowry, it traces the final two days in the life of a minor German politician, Keetenheuve, a man disillusioned by the corruption of post-World War II German politics and grieving after the sudden death of his wife. With a passionate, despairing voice, Wolfgang Koeppen (1906-1996), whom Gunter Grass once called the "greatest living German writer," creates a portrait of idealism crushed by political and personal compromise.

My Review
This is a very well written novel but depicts a very depressed Germany after the war. I didn't enjoy reading this book as it is written in disjointed, fragmented prose with lots of metaphors. It would probably mean more to those who lived through the same experience. I would recommend it for anyone who is interested in German or European history.