Breakers (novel)
| Author | Martin Walser |
|---|---|
| Original title | Brandung |
| Translator | Leila Vennewitz |
| Language | German |
| Publisher | Suhrkamp Verlag |
Publication date | 1985 |
| Publication place | West Germany |
Published in English | 1987 |
| Pages | 319 |
| ISBN | 3-518-03570-3 |
Breakers (German: Brandung) is a 1985 novel by the German writer Martin Walser. It was published in English translation by Leila Vennewitz in 1987.[1]
Plot
Helmut Halm is a German professor who teaches for a year at the Washington University in Oakland, a fictionalised version of the University of California. He socialises with colleagues in the German department and is approached romantically by a female student.[2][3][4][5]
Reception
Richard Eder of the Los Angeles Times wrote that Walser gives a German spin to a genre that has been a British specialty, portraying a foreigner at an American college, and called the story a comedy of manners with "more wit than comedy". Eder wrote that Walser's "Germany is soulless, materialistic, technocratic and loud-mouthed", and the main character in Breakers "is a man who tries to be these things but fails".[1]
The book received the 1989 German Literary Prize from the American Translators Association.[6]
References
- ^ a b Eder, Richard (7 October 1987). "Book Review : Comedy of Manners Finds a Struggling German Professor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
- ^ Neuhaus, Stefan (2025). "Martin Walser: Brandung (1985)". In Grugger, H.; Neuhaus, S. (eds.). Der Campusroman (in German). Berlin, Heidelberg: J.B. Metzler. pp. 357–364. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-71865-0_38.
- ^ "Breakers". Kirkus Reviews. 15 August 1987. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
- ^ Ruta, Suzanne (1 November 1987). "What's All This Dying, Helmut?". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
- ^ Mews, Siegfried (1987). "Martin Walsers Brandung: Ein Deutscher Campus-Roman?". The German Quarterly (in German). 60 (2): 220–236. doi:10.2307/407252.
- ^ "Vennewitz Leila". ABC Bookworld. Retrieved 5 December 2025.