How German is it - Walter Abish

Ulrich Hargenau, a successful writer, has returned to his homeland after a prolonged absence and is soon forced to confront problems that lie beneath the new democratic Germany. Nowhere is this more complex than in Brumholdstein - a flourishing community built over a former concentration camp. When a police station is attacked, a mass grave of unidentified corps is discovered, his estranged ex-wife disappears and attempts are made on his own life, Ulrich gradually pieces together the puzzle of a society in turmoil.

In this chilling, unsettling and subtly ironic panorama of contemporary Germany, Walter Abish asks 'how German is it?' to explore a society that has attempted to erase its menacing heritage.