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A review by davidsteinsaltz
The Invention of Curried Sausage by Uwe Timm
4.0
No question that this is a fascinating novella about the interlocking movements of individual stories that make up the grand scheme of history. Sharply drawn characters swing between passivity and commotion.
I haven't seen the English translation, but I find it dubious just on the basis of the title. The obvious translation of the German title is "The Discovery of Curried Sausage". And this slightly absurd designation is crucial to the spirit of the book, the way it balances the sense of fate in the movements of the large world (armies, peoples, genocide) and the small (individual encounters, recipes). It toys with the notion that what is must inevitably have been that way. Perhaps the translator had some brilliant reason for this odd choice of title, or perhaps she was simply too earthbound to appreciate why Currywurst should have been "discovered" rather than "invented".
I haven't seen the English translation, but I find it dubious just on the basis of the title. The obvious translation of the German title is "The Discovery of Curried Sausage". And this slightly absurd designation is crucial to the spirit of the book, the way it balances the sense of fate in the movements of the large world (armies, peoples, genocide) and the small (individual encounters, recipes). It toys with the notion that what is must inevitably have been that way. Perhaps the translator had some brilliant reason for this odd choice of title, or perhaps she was simply too earthbound to appreciate why Currywurst should have been "discovered" rather than "invented".