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Friday, May 15, 2020

Simplicius Simplicissimus (1669) by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen


Book Review
Simplicius Simplicissimus (1669)
by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen

Replaces: Persuasion by Jane Austen

  A great counter-argument to the England-centric argument behind the "rise of the novel" is that the early "pre-novels" mostly came from outside of England, with Spain, Germany and France leading the way.  Specifically, the "picaresque" which you could call the first "genre" of the novel, was developed entirely outside of England, mostly in Spain, but also in Germany, where Simplicius Simplicissimus, a classic picaresque set during the 30 years war, was published in 1669.

  It is hardly a secret that books written before the 19th century can be extremely bawdy to our supposedly advanced, modern sensibility, but Simplicius excels in its depictions of the horrors of war circa the 17th century.  It is also almost 500 pages, something to take into consideration, with a gothic/baroque style that can be tedious. 

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