Books in the The Seagull Library of German Literature series

Begins with a man who receives a startling call from his ex-wife. She's in the hospital, awaiting a cancer diagnosis. His mind races as he suddenly realizes he must find out whether she was contaminated by fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Over ten rainy nights, Thomas, an ex-barge-man who used to be skipper of his own boat, walks the muddy fields of the land-locked German interior and remembers the events that lost him his home, his boat, and his livelihood. In this novel, Thomas remembers childhood, his first love, and the warning of his grandfather: Beware the dark company.

Any new book by poet, essayist, writer, and translator Hans Magnus Enzensberger, one of the most influential and internationally renowned German intellectuals, is cause for notice, and Mr. Zed‿s Reflections is no exception. Every afternoon for almost a year, a plump man named Mr. Zed comes to the same spot in the city park and engages passersby with quick-witted repartee. Those who pass ask, who is this man? A wisecracker, a clown, a belligerent philosopher? Many shake their heads and move on; others listen to him, engage with him, and, again and again, end up at the same place. He doesn‿t write anything down, but his listeners often take notes. With subversive energy and masterful brevity, Mr. Zed undermines arrogance, megalomania, and false authority. A determined speaker who doesn‿t care for ambitions, he forces topics that others would rather keep to themselves. Reluctant to trust institutions and seeing absolutely nothing as “non-negotiable,â€? he admits mistakes and does away with judgment.  He is no mere ventriloquist dummy for his creator‿he is too stubborn for that. And at the end of the season, when it becomes too cold and uncomfortable in the park, he disappears, never to be seen again. Collected in this thought-provoking and unique work are the considerations and provocations of this squat, park-bench philosopher, giving us a volume of truths and conversations that are clear-cut, skeptical, and fiercely illuminating.

A novel that follows the life of a man who, like the author, lived in the Lodz ghetto during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. It gives expression to the author's perception of himself and the world and to his tireless attempt to bring his own tone of linguistic brevity, irony, and balance to German relations.