… an oddly fragmented montage that offers a compelling view of the title figure …

Publishers Weekly

Uwe Timm

Uwe Timm was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1940. After primary school he apprenticed as a furrier before attending college. He studied philosophy and German philology in Munich and Paris with a dissertation on the “Problem of Absurdities.” He received his PhD in 1971 and was a co-founder and editor of AutorenEdition from 1972 to 1982. Timm served as a writer-in-residence at University of Warwick, Swansea, and Washington University in St. Louis. His writing has been incredibly well-received and among his awards are the Munich Literary Prize, the Literature Prize of the Bavarian Academy for Fine Arts, the Schubart Literary Prize, and the Heinrich Böll Prize. Timm is one of the most successful contemporary authors in Germany and his books The Invention of Curried Sausage and In My Brother’s Shadow are often included on the syllabi of German schools. His writing often centers around history, politics, and colonialism and his works have been translated into nineteen languages. Through his writing style Timm tries to imitate the way that stories are told orally. Timm has also written children’s books and his story Rudy, the Racing Pig was turned into a movie. Today he lives in Munich and Berlin.

cover image of the book Morenga

Morenga

by Uwe Timm

Translated by Breon Mitchell

A gripping historical novel about colonial power and tribal rebellion, set in German-occupied Southwest Africa. Uwe Timm (Headhunter, The Invention of Curried Sausage) has been described in The New Yorker as “an extraordinary storyteller.” In this early novel, he focuses his narrative talents on the historical conflict between German colonists and African tribes under the leadership of the legendary Morenga in the first decade of the 20th century. A daring and brilliant military tactician, Morenga was fluent in several languages and by all reports a man of compassion, intelligence, and integrity, as he led his people towards freedom. Recounted through the eyes of Gottschalk, an engaging fictional military veterinarian, the narrative blends quotations from historical sources with actual accounts of everyday life and military excursions. The parallels between past events and later German history, with its notions of the Untermensch (subhuman beings) and racial inferiority, are subtly brought to mind, while significant philosophical, political, and human issues are at play. Morenga is an intriguing novel of scope and significance, and it has been well served by Breon Mitchell’s prize-winning translation.

More Information
cover image of the book Midsummer Night

Midsummer Night

by Uwe Timm

Translated by Peter Tegel

If this, Uwe Timm’s enchanting novel, were a cautionary tale, the tag line would go something like this: Should you plan to be in Berlin on Midsummer Night, the time of the summer solstice – Watch Out! The narrator of Timm’s story is a writer who simply can’t get started on his next book. So he accepts a commission to write an article about potatoes. He has some interest in the subject because of an uncle who could, remarkably, from taste alone, differentiate one species of potato from another. Since one of the authorities on the subject worked in East Berlin, our hero takes off to do some research. Rushing around the newly united city, he becomes involved in a series of madcap adventures, strange entanglements, and odd, sometimes threatening encounters. Uwe Timm spins a fascinating tale here, one filled with surprise, magic, comedy, and hope.

More Information
cover image of the book The Invention of Curried Sausage

The Invention of Curried Sausage

A bestseller in Germany, The Invention of Curried Sausage was tagged a “novella” in the original sense of the word––“a little piece of news.” This news is what author/narrator Timm uncovers about a popular German sidewalk food, curried sausage. Convinced it originated not in Berlin in the fifties as generally supposed, but much earlier in his native Hamburg, Timm tracks down Lena Brücker, now living in a retirement home there. And, yes, curried sausage was her invention but it’s a long story, one cajoled from her during a number of tea-time visits. It all started in April, 1945, just before the war’s end when she met, seduced, and held captive a young deserter. The war was over, the lover escaped, and Lena Brücker, with remarkable ingenuity, went into business. That’s where the sausage comes in! Weaving an ingenious, revealing, and charming tale, Timm is indeed “an extraordinary storyteller” (The New Yorker).

More Information
cover image of the book Headhunter

Headhunter

by Uwe Timm

Translated by Peter Tegel

The first thing to be said about Uwe Timm’s novel Headhunter, as every one of the many outstanding reviews on its publication in Germany noted, is that it is a thoroughly engrossing book - “gripping and entertaining from beginning to end” (FAZ). The second thing is that Timm, with a wonderfully light and precise touch, has created a multi-layered, multi-faceted book that addresses the times we live in and, most particularly, the role of money and the financial cannibalism of recent years. The narrator Peter Walter is a charmer, a master storyteller who has used that skill to siphon off millions from clients hoping to strike it rich on the commodities market. Escaping to Spain on the day his trial verdict is to come down, he intends to devote himself to his hobby, study of Easter Island. But a detective is on the trail of the missing millions, and Walter’s uncle, an established author, is planning to use Walter’s life story in a novel. Walter sets out to write his own intriguing autobiography - from his childhood in Hamburg’s red-light district to his success in the world of high finance.

More Information
cover image of the book The Snake Tree

The Snake Tree

by Uwe Timm

Translated by Peter Tegel

Edited by Peter Tegel

Wagner, an all-efficient German engineer, takes in hand the job of rescuing a floundering construction project in the South American rain forest. But before he even reaches the site, his car runs over an emerald-green Acaray snake–marking him, according to local beliefs, for death. Things go from bad to worse. Wagner’s slowly degenerating colleagues are useless; his attempts to help the workers bring on a strike that the military regime suppresses; and he botches up the Company’s delicate system of bribery. The building is sinking into the red mud faster than it is being built. Losing ground, Wagner tensely observes himself losing balance and events take an ugly turn.

More Information

… an oddly fragmented montage that offers a compelling view of the title figure …

Publishers Weekly

A small, perfect feast: full of life, heart, spirit, and laughter, all seasoned delicately with sorrow and hope.

Kirkus Reviews

An extraordinary storyteller.

New Yorker

An important early work in the career of one of the best living German writers.

Kirkus Reviews
Scroll to Top of Page