{"product_id":"our-philosopher-paperback","title":"Our Philosopher - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eGert Hofmann\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eEric Mace-Tessler\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator), \u003cb\u003eMichael Hofmann\u003c\/b\u003e (Introduction by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA powerful novel about prejudice, violence, and complicity in Nazi Germany, this spare and evocative work interrogates shows how a group of people can slip towards extremism and barbarity in the blink of an eye.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe time is the 1930s. Our philosopher is Herr Veilchenfeld, a renowned thinker and distinguished professor, who, after his sudden dismissal from the university, has retired to live quietly in a country town in the east of Germany. Our narrator is Hans, a clever and inquisitive boy. He relates a mix of things he witnesses himself and things he hears about from his father, the town doctor, who sees all sorts of people as he makes his rounds, even Veilchenfeld, with his troubled heart. Veilchenfeld is in decline, it's true--he keeps ever more to himself--but the town is in ever better shape. After the defeat of the Great War and the subsequent years of poverty, things are looking up. The old, worn people are heartened to see it. The young are exhilarated. It is up to them to promote and patrol this new uplifting reality--to make it safe from the likes of Veilchenfeld, whose very existence is an affront to it. And so the doctor listens, and young Hans looks on.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eGert Hofmann \u003c\/b\u003e(1931-1993) was a German writer and scholar of German literature. Originally an author of radio plays, he became one of postwar Germany's most prolific novelists, his fiction often examining the continued resonance of Nazism in Germany. His accolades include the Ingeborg-Bachmann Prize and the Alfred Dlin Prize. \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eEric Mace-Tessler \u003c\/b\u003eis a translator and educator. Born in Brooklyn, he has lived in Germany and Switzerland for three decades. \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eMichael Hofmann\u003c\/b\u003e is a poet and translator. He is the author of two books of essays and five books of poems, most recently \u003ci\u003eOne Lark, One Horse\u003c\/i\u003e. He has translated several books for NYRB Classics, including Alfred Dlin's \u003ci\u003eBerlin Alexanderplatz\u003c\/i\u003e, Jakob Wassermann's \u003ci\u003eMy Marriage\u003c\/i\u003e, and Gert Ledig's \u003ci\u003eStalin Front\u003c\/i\u003e, Kurt Tucholsky's \u003ci\u003eCastle Gripsholm\u003c\/i\u003e, and edited \u003ci\u003eThe Voyage That Never Ends\u003c\/i\u003e, an anthology of writing by Malcolm Lowry.\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 176\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.6 x 8.1 x 5.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 26, 2023\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51764612661536,"sku":"9781681377582","price":15.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/3e7052de1a584ef11f039e10bc48d530.webp?v=1780253527","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/our-philosopher-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}