Tyll: A Novel

Ever since I saw the German edition of this novel and guessed what it may depict, I have wanted to read the magical story of Tyll Ulenspiegel.The main reason why this book has been on my radar and I have been waiting for the translation is that I have been interested in the Thirty Years' War ever since I watched a splendid documentary on it and visited some places which still remember that cruel period. The War is shown in soldiers, landscape, cruelty and its nonsense, as any war, and although only some episodes are included in the story, in my opinion, the Author could not have done a better job reflecting on that period. Elizabeth's reflections on her life, on accepting the crown of Bohemia and on fighting for the title for her son during the congress in Westphalia, give the background behind the events which started the conflict and difficulty ending it. I found 'The Fat Count' and 'The Winter Queen' parts fascinating.Tyll and his 'sister' Nele wonder the lands, escape, dance and support each other during their journeys without a destination. I admit that Tyll as a character was difficult for me to fully understand as there may be some references that I missed, however, I found him and the folklore he represents absolutely engrossing. Reading about Tyll was for me like wondering in the forest.This is not a novel that will appeal to every reader. There is no actual linear plot, the characters, some of whom imaginary, some of whom real, tell their stories, always subjective and, in consequence,not always reliable.I feel I should congratulate the translator who did a terrific job. While reading 'Tyll' I had the impression it was not translated, but written in English.'Tyll' was a superb read for me ...

Tyll and those with whom he interacts together reflect the impact of the Thirty Years War on the lives of both highborn and commoner alike. Often these insights are presented in what I thought to be extremely effective interior ruminations, especially in the chapters on the Winter King and the concluding chapter with Liz presenting the case for her son's claim to family lands at a diplomatic peace convocation at Westphalia. The first captured the pre-death decline of the king remarkably well; the second, the comedic restraints placed on diplomats attempting to end the prolonged war at the heart of the novel. All these glimpses into the thoughts and feelings of Tyll and the others serve as well to underline the book's larger thematic context, the cruelty of war itself. Daniel Kehlmann manages both to draw readers into the interior lives of his creations and to establish a believable larger world within which they interact. I found the book quite moving and especially effective in conveying its anti-war sentiments.

The first chapter has the seductively eerie tone of a “Twilight Zone” episode being filtered through a tarot card. But the novel becomes a page turning vehicle for learning about the time of the Thirty Years War.The plot integrates several historical figures into recurring characters, such as a cold, insecure Jesuit priest with scientific ambitions and an English princess who may have helped start the war by encouraging her German husband to accept a crown from Bohemian nobles. I knew only the broadest info about the war and nothing of any of the historical figures.But the novel’s force is largely due to the author’s great atmospheric descriptions, which are sewn together through appearances by the charismatic title character.

This is a marvelous book with nicely envisioned characters. Tell, of course, the legendary prankster. Some evil Jesuits. Gustav Adolph the Swedish war lord, and all the sorts of devious sorts who would contribute to the disaster of the Thirty Years War, and James VI's daughter. Read it!

Tyll Ulenspiegel lives in a small village in Germany in the early 1600s. Tyll is a bit... Strange. And a bit scrawny. He likes to juggle and he is teaching himself to tightrope walk. His father Claus is the village miller. And a healer who practices a bit of witchcraft on the side. No one seems to mind until two Jesuits come to town and learn of his practices. And thus Tyll's life as a wandering entertainer and prankster is set in motion. As he roams across central Europe during the Thirty Years' War, he encounters a variety of famous figures, sort of a medieval Forrest Gump.I truly enjoyed this book. I had never heard of the character of Tyll before. He is apparently a well-known character in German folklore. His adventures date from the 1300s but Kehlman has moved him to the 17th century. The book does not follow a linear narrative and half the fun is skipping around in time and piecing together the thread of Tyll's life. While not a 'difficult' read, the reader does need to pay attention and pick up on the details to avoid getting lost. Also, some basic knowledge of the war and it's key players would be helpful. You don't need to be a scholar, read the Wikipedia entries or do a little web searching. A little bit of background will pay off immensely.I don't want to spoil anything but this book was an absolute delight. The writing and translation flow wonderfully. It is by turns funny, sad and horrifying. It is open-ended and as I said not chronological. Tyll and several of the other main characters are wonderfully drawn, although Tyll remains a mystery to the end. For much of the book he is not the central focus but he is a catalyst, bringing the different characters together and seeing them on their paths. I pay this book the highest compliment: I did not want it to end and despite having a staggering backlog of new titles to read, I want to go to page 1 and read it again.

What is life like in a time of fear and pestilence? No, I'm not talking about the world today, I'm talking about the 1600s Germany that Daniel Kehlmann conjures. This novel echoes dark German fables yet is still somehow charming. The best book I've read in years. Kehlmann is a magician.

I think I've got it now! In this dire book, a blank, framed canvas is hung on the wall, and fawning courtiers are required to admire the magnificent portrait for fear of being thought stupid (the Emperor's New Clothes syndrome). This book and/or the publisher's blurb (including the plaudits from Rushdie and McEwan) were obviously written in the style of this one of Tyll's Merry Pranks, to test the credulity of the reading public and dare them to say "the King is in the altogether...". Well, the king is in the altogether.The publisher's blurb bears almost no relation to the book. The book is not about Tyll Ulenspiegel - he is a peripheral character at best. Tyll's story is almost completely undeveloped while the author tediously works through his research on the Thirty Years' War.For some reason ("Maybe it will get better ...") I persevered to the stunningly inconsequential end.Some may say I missed the point of the book. Maybe, but that's the author's fault, not mine.

Each chapter, or group of chapters, is very well-written. The style is vivid and engaging. The opening is a gem.The strength of the book is the background: the 30 years war, the Winter King and Queen, and the other characters.The weakness is that It's difficult to get a sense of what the whole book is about. Clearly, Tyll Ulenspiegel is meant to be an illusive, shadowy character. I think I understand why. However, the result is an oddly disjointed book that doesn't amount to much, except the separate chapters.So, in the end, I started to get frustrated. It's very clever, perhaps too clever. Rushdie said that the novel was "unputdownable". well, I had to struggle to pick it up. McEwan said that it was "savage". Not really ...

Although starting off very well it has to be admitted that Daniel Kehlmann’s novel in the later stages becomes a bit messy, and certainly loses any direction. The title which is a character from German folklore was a rather mischievous jester who got up to all kinds of scrapes with scatological jokes galore, whilst also revealing the hypocrisy and such like in society. As a character for a novel, which in this case is a picaresque one there should be no problem, or so you would hope.Really each chapter here is a separate story as such with a certain interconnectedness and you can start to see the patterns as the tale progresses, but this is not the problem here. Taking us chronologically back and forth in time so we start with a story of Tyll and his little troupe turning up at a small town and what happens next. We then are transported back to Tyll growing up and why he became an itinerant entertainer. There are some wonderful scenes here, such as the rather Kafkaesque witchcraft trials, and there are sly literary allusions throughout, such as references to King Lear and other famous plays and tales.There is quite a lot of comedy here, from light to dark, as we read this romp set in the period of the Thirty Years’ War (which you do not need to familiar with to read this). With politics, religion, superstition and of course disease such as the plague all playing major roles, so at the end of this you are left feeling slightly disappointed. You never really can work out whether Kehlmann wanted to write a novel about the folkloric jester, or an historical novel about the Thirty Years’ War, and how it started to shape modern Europe. This is a big problem, and along with Tyll being frankly, underutilised, so you are left with a feeling of something going awry, in that perhaps the author himself started to lose the plot with what he was trying to achieve.Entertaining on certain levels this never builds up into a whole and something that builds upon its parts making it into something larger than its episodes, which is definitely a missed opportunity, as it becomes something less than its individual parts. I would not put people off with regards to reading this, but would warn any potential readers that if you are looking for a fully rounded novel, then you will not find it here: this is more akin to a TV series where some episodes are better than others, and with no definite purpose in execution.

Normally, I avoid historical fiction because it's almost always wrong. This book was different, completely different. It contains the only remotely historically accurate portrayal of the witch trials in fiction known to me, and I have worked on the history of witchcraft for 30 years. It's also profoundly engaging as a portrayal of a society collapsing into death. I couldn't put it down, not because of any peripheral plot hijinks, but because I was fascinated by the evocation of one of the worst moments in European history, the 30 Years' War. Seeing that period through the lens of a trickster figure was a brilliant idea, and the book as a whole was luminous with the kind of intelligence I associate with the work of Herman Hesse. Much the best historical fiction I've read in 10 years. However, it does challenge the reader to absorb a point of view very different from the norms of the 21st-century. Warmly recommended to those willing to step out of their comfort zone.

This has nothing to do with Till Eulenspiegel, a chapbpook about a jester/joker who is known for "scatological" practical jokes and criticism of the falseness of society.It contains bigotry, discrimination, false disjointed stories full of hate against Catholics, Jesuits, Germans and all non English people, religions, habits, language and customs.A caricature of xenophobia at its ugly worstP:S: a chapbook is (wikipedia) a <40 page booklet, often crudely illustrated and printed on one folded page, sold by "chapmen" - street peddlers