Nobel Prize Day: Günter Grass (1927-2015) Tribute List

Nobel Laureate Günter Grass died on April 13, 2015 at the age of 87. He wrestled tirelessly with his native Germany's modern history in novels and essays of impressive depth and range. His literary output stands as an insistent and imaginative response to the horrors of the 20th century. Here are 12 quotes from Grass's novels, short stories and interviews.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ersatz
    an artificial or inferior substitute or imitation
    there is also such a thing as ersatz happiness, perhaps happiness exists only as an ersatz, perhaps all happiness is an ersatz for happiness.
    — The Tin Drum
  2. predestination
    the doctrine that God has foreordained every event
    Did he, I asked, believe in predestination? He did. Did he believe that all men were doomed to die? Yes, he felt certain that all men would absolutely have to die, but he was less sure that all men had to be born...
    — The Tin Drum
  3. stratum
    one of several parallel layers of material
    Where man had been, in every place he left, garbage remained. Even in his pursuit of the ultimate truth and quest for his God, he produced garbage. By his garbage, which lay stratum upon stratum, he could always -- one had only to dig -- be known. For more long-lived than man is his refuse. Garbage alone lives after him.
    — The Rat
  4. utopia
    ideally perfect state
    I shall speak of … how melancholy and utopia preclude one another. How they fertilize one another … Of the revulsion that follows one insight and precedes the next … Of superabundance and surfeit. Of stasis and progress. And of myself, for whom melancholy and utopia are heads and tails of the same coin.
    — "On Stasis and Progress" in Diary of a Snail
  5. preclude
    make impossible, especially beforehand
    I shall speak of … how melancholy and utopia preclude one another. How they fertilize one another … Of the revulsion that follows one insight and precedes the next … Of superabundance and surfeit. Of stasis and progress. And of myself, for whom melancholy and utopia are heads and tails of the same coin.
    — "On Stasis and Progress" in Diary of a Snail
  6. surfeit
    the state of being more than full
    I shall speak of … how melancholy and utopia preclude one another. How they fertilize one another … Of the revulsion that follows one insight and precedes the next … Of superabundance and surfeit. Of stasis and progress. And of myself, for whom melancholy and utopia are heads and tails of the same coin.
    — "On Stasis and Progress" in Diary of a Snail
  7. pathos
    a quality that arouses emotions, especially pity or sorrow
    I have found that words that are loaded with pathos and create a seductive euphoria are apt to promote nonsense.
    — Der Spiegel Interview, August 20, 2010
  8. euphoria
    a feeling of great elation
    I have found that words that are loaded with pathos and create a seductive euphoria are apt to promote nonsense.
    — Der Spiegel Interview, August 20, 2010
  9. egregious
    conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
    I have heard my fill of hurtful words. I think it's especially egregious when citizens like me, who point out abuses in their country, are referred to as 'do-gooders.' This is how a phrase that can be used to stop an argument dead becomes part of common usage.
    — Der Spiegel Interview August 20, 2010
  10. protuberance
    something that bulges out or projects from its surroundings
    if I were asked to think up a new name for temptation, I should recommend the word 'doorknob', because what are these protuberances put on doors for if not to tempt us...
    ― The Tin Drum
  11. lavish
    given or giving freely, generously, or without restriction
    Aside from their color my grandmother's skirts were distinguished by a lavish expanse of material. They formed broad arcs, billowed when the wind rose, fell slack when it had had enough, rattled as it passed, and all four flew out ahead of her when the wind was in her stern. When she sat down, my grandmother gathered her skirts about her.
    — The Tin Drum
  12. solicitous
    full of anxiety and concern
    The solicitous affection prescribed in my case would surely have deterred my friends from bringing me anything so dangerous as blank paper and making it available to this mind of mine which persists in excreting syllables.
    — The Tin Drum
Created on Mon Apr 13 06:50:03 EDT 2015 (updated Mon Apr 13 15:29:03 EDT 2015)

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