Carey, Peter (Vol. 96) - Graham Huggan (essay date Spring 1990)
Graham Huggan (essay date Spring 1990)
SOURCE: "Is the (Günter) Grass Greener on the Other Side? Oskar and Lucinde in the New World," in World Literature Written in English, Vol. 30, No. 1, Spring, 1990, pp. 1-10.
[In the following essay, Huggan compares Carey's Oscar and Lucinda to Günter Grass's The Tin Drum, arguing that Carey's novel is an allegorical critique of colonialism.]
By the final stages of Günter Grass's notorious novel The Tin Drum, first published in 1959, the rebellious dwarf Oskar and his counter-rhythmical drum have achieved cult status. "What we cured best of all," gloats Oskar, "was loss of memory. The word 'Oskarism' made its first appearance, but not, I am sorry to say, its last." No doubt Oskar would be perversely delighted to know that "Oskarism" is still alive and well, with disciples all over the post-colonial world. For Grass's novel has held a particular fascination for post-colonial...
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