The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr
The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr together with a fragmentary Biography of Kapellmeister Johannes Kreisler on Random Sheets of Waste Paper is a complex
Synopsis
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The text of the book states it is the autobiography of a cat named Murr who has learned to write. The content of the book is therefore the life and work of the cat Murr, as written by Murr. However, in between Murr's autobiography, there are pages of a biography of another character, Johannes Kreisler.
Reception
Critic
Jeffrey Ford described the novel as a "complex, truly wild fiction" where Hoffmann "pieced together the fragments of his own shattered psyche and commented on the relationship of art and artists to society."[3]
English translations
An English translation by Anthea Bell was published in 1999 by Penguin Classics.
Notes
- ^ The title of the translation is reminiscent of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759–1767), the experimental novel by British writer Laurence Sterne.
References
- ^ Hoffmeister, Gerhart (2006-10-15). "Kater Murr". The Literary Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
- ^ Ross, Alex (2009-08-24). "Imaginary Concerts: The Music of Fictional Composers". The New Yorker. p. 72.
- F&SF, April 1999
External links
- Media related to Kater Murr at Wikimedia Commons
- Lebensansichten des Katers Murr by E. T. A. Hoffmann at Project Gutenberg (in German)