The Adventures of a Simpleton (1668)

Schwierig, blutig, nicht was Ich mir fuer ein Weihnachtsgeschenk wuenschte.

A daredevil and teaser at the time of the Thirty Years War. Picaresque novel in the German version of a Quijote who, very Germanic, does not need a Sancho as mirror image.

An amazing book. A picaresque study of futility, fidelity and the innocent abroad; a mournful account of the irredeemable brutishness of man entwined with a comic catalogue of his follies. Very few books articulate the bewilderment, the unanswerableness of war as well as this one does. And there are flights of fantasy which take you wholly by surprise.

I read a recent translation by Mike Mitchell which managed to modernise the language without occluding the temper of the time (although bizarrely "gaol" was copy-edited to "goal" throughout). Ought to be much more widely-read: it's not a difficult read by any means. ( )

German Classic

REENACTORS NOTE (16th Century) Warning, the book is based in the Thrity Years War! 249 pages: Set in a period after our own, this book is most likely a compilation of 'soldiers tales' told around the camp fires of Grimmelshausen's army youth. Simplicius is the prototype for the ideal soldier; always escaping his bad luck by the skin of his teeth, ranging from rich to poor in a matter of days, winning women, money and fame along the way. A great read, but should not be considered as 'primary' source material. ( )