Context is important in understanding works of literature. But readers of literature — particularly those in Books@Work seminars — are not only historians. They read for all sorts of reasons. To hear stories. To encounter the other. To understand the world around them. To hear the beauty of the written word. To escape the familiar. To embrace the familiar. And so even as we acknowledge, unpack and rethink the meaning of works like Günter Grass’ The Tin Drum in light of the author’s past and how he concealed that past, we also continue to read. As you read, how much does the author’s past affect how you perceive the story?
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