A review by jen_richardson19
The Flounder by Günter Grass

5.0

This book is a fantastic, convoluted, dark and intensely strange 500 page fairy tale. The story perpetually switches between time periods, from early neolithic to present, and between the female protagonists of each time- but once you get the hang of all of the women and the men (who are in fact one man conscious of all of his historical reincarnations), it is surprisingly easy to read and stay in the flow of the current narrators past and present ramblings and references. Essentially this history of patriarchy unfolds in the absurd context of a feminist Women's Tribunal putting the Flounder on trial, through which we learn all of the ways that this god-fish instructed and aided the male cause to pursue wars and rape and oppression of women, etc etc. We also get a very detailed history of food and its effect on women and society, as all of his female protagonists are cooks.

I think it would be bold to directly recommend this to friends because it is so very very long and convoluted (and slightly perverse), but it is definitely one of my new favorite books so if you're up for something strange and compelling it is absolutely worth getting through!