Der Mann im Strom

Hamburg edition of the works. A reader-friendly study edition, all texts reviewed and compared with the original typescripts and first prints. Each volume includes a detailed commentary on the history of creation and reception.

"Thank you very much for your letter, especially for the beautiful title, which we did not even consider necessary to dream about, as it truly has many advantages. It is simple, catchy, allows for a question, and above all, it describes the situation: heartfelt thanks," writes Siegfried Lenz to his publisher in May 1957. Shortly before, the publishing management had suggested the title "The Man in the Current" for his fourth novel. Its protagonist is a diver who has grown old in this profession. For almost twenty years, he has descended day after day into the murky waters of the harbor basin to carry out his dangerous work. Now he does not want to be pushed out, as he bears the responsibility for his family. To avoid jeopardizing his job, he forges his papers and makes himself younger... "Lenz's narrative strength lies in his fresh, firm, precise handling, in his keen sense of contrasts, which add highlights of gentle irony to the strict intensity of the language," judges Die Zeit.