The Author of Himself: The Life of Marcel Reich-Ranicki (Paperback)

[T]his autobiography is far more than the account of a literary career; it is an unforgettable piece of Holocaust literature. -- Peter Graves Times Literary Supplement One of the great literary memoirs of the twentieth century. -- Edward Timms Times Literary Supplement It is understandable why Mr. Ranicki's autobiography has become such a huge bestseller in Germany. His personal experiences are not only woven around the most critical historical events but they have intersected with the lives of the most prominent German authors such as Joachim Fest, Heinrich Boll, and Gunter Grass. Mr. Ranicki is above all respected for his honesty and clarity and he spares no one from the thrust of his literary insight. -- Janusz Bugajski The Washington Times Reich-Ranicki's accounts of life in the Polish ghetto are some of the most vivid and compelling ever written... The book headed the German best-sellers list for more than a year when it came out. Library Journal Narrated in an engaging, matter-of-fact style void of sensationalism, this book transforms Reich-Ranicki's story into an unforgettable document of modern times. Choice [An] unforgettable book. Reich-Ranicki's position in German culture is unimaginable in any other country except perhaps, Russia. For more than twenty years, German writers have trembled, fumed, wept, and on occasion preened themselves over his verdicts on their work... [H]e established an almost imperial ascendancy over German literary criticism. -- Neal Ascherson New York Review of Books Written in a deceptively simple and beautifully wrought German and ably translated, ... [this] is one of the most poignant and important memoirs of the last century... Reich-Ranicki is the quintessential outsider, and few lives reveal as much about the past century and where the new one may be headed. -- Jacob Heilbrunn Los Angeles Times Book Review An unforgettable piece of Holocaust literature that forces the reader to consider the long-term effects of unimaginable loss. -- Elaine Margolin Partisan Review [Reich-Ranicki] is an eloquent, thoughtful critic, prodigiously well read in German language literature, who, despite the loss of his family in the Holocaust and his experiences in the Warsaw ghetto, never lost his passion for that literature. That enduring love is the cornerstone of his autobiography. -- Tess Lewis The New Criterion --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

This [engaging] book transforms Reich-Ranicki's story into an unforgettable document of modern times. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.