![]() ![]() English-speaking readers may not recognize all the historical characters, but no prior knowledge is needed to enjoy Tyll’s adventures. ![]() Indeed, Tyll’s unique position lets him interact with a variety of folk, enhancing the scope of this picaresque tale. Kehlmann pokes fun at Germany’s language and traditions as Tyll entertains and insults people across the social spectrum, from royalty to laborers. ![]() He survives a rough childhood (and emerges changed after being forced to stay alone in the forest overnight), sees his miller father betrayed by witch-hunting Jesuits, trains as a performer, becomes court jester to the deposed Winter King and Queen of Bohemia, and more. Daniel Kehlmann masterfully weaves the fates of many historical figures into this enchanting work of magical realism and adventure. Some of the book’s eight nonchronological, interlinked episodes are told, in part, from Tyll’s perspective, while in others he appears as a minor character. Injecting gleeful dark humor into a setting that manages to feel both fantastically dystopian and historically grounded, the irresistible story highlights the chaotic devastation of the era, during which millions across Europe died, and shows how a prankster like Tyll hardly has a monopoly on foolish behavior. Kehlmann has an unusual combination of talents and ambitionshe is a playful realist, a rationalist drawn to magical games and tricky performances, a modern who likes to look backward. ![]() A bestseller in Germany, Kehlmann’s tale convincingly sweeps Tyll Ulenspiegel, the classic itinerant trickster from German folklore, ahead from medieval times to the seventeenth century and the Thirty Years’ War. ![]()
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