Hans Fallada is a pseudonym of Rudolf Ditzen, who was born in Greifswald, Germany, in 1893. Many of Fallada's works, including the posthumously published The Drinker, were about his life, which was rife with addictions and instability. Another subject of his works was his homeland Germany. Earlier works, including international bestseller Little Man, What Now?, show a Germany that would allow itself to become a Nazi nation under Hitler. Later works deal with the aftermath and guilt of this decision. He died on February 5, 1947, in Berlin.
Professional Reviews
"The greatest book ever written about German resistance to the Nazis."
-- Primo Levi
"Hans Fallada's Every Man Dies Alone is one of the most extraordinary and compelling novels ever written about World War II. Ever. Fallada lived through the Nazi hell, so every word rings truethis is who they really were: the Gestapo monsters, the petty informers, the few who dared to resist. Please, do not miss this."
-- Alan Furst
"A signal literary event of 2009 has occurred. Rescued from the grave, from decades of forgetting, [ Every Man Dies Alone ] testifies to the lasting value of an intact, if battered, conscience. In a publishing hat trick, Melville House allows English-language readers to sample Fallada's vetiginous variety [and] the keen vision of a troubled man in troubled times, with more breadth, detail, and understanding than most other chroniclers of the era have delivered. To read Every Man Dies Alone , Fallada's testament to the darkest years of the 20th century, is to be accompanied by a wise, somber ghost who grips your arm and whispers in your ear: 'This is how it was. This is what happened.'"
-- New York Times Book Review
" Every Man Dies Alone ...deserves a place among the 20th century's best novels of political witness."
-- Sam Munson, The National
" Every Man Dies Alone [is] a suspense-driven novel...one-of-a-kind."
-- Alan Furst, Toronto Globe and Mail
" Every Man Dies Alone [is] one of the most immediate and authentic fictional accounts of life during the long nightmare of Nazi rule."
-- The New York Observer
"Primo Levi…called this
"the greatest book ever written about the German resistance to the Nazis." It is, in retrospect, an understatement. This is a novel that is so powerful, so intense, that it almost hums with electricity."
-- Minneapolis Star-Tribune
" [Every Man Dies Alone] has the suspense of a John le Carré novel, and offers a visceral, chilling portrait of the distrust that permeated everyday German life during the war."
-- The New Yorker
"[A]t once a riveting page turner and a memorable portrait of wartime Berlin...With its vivid cast of characters and pervasive sense of menace, Every Man Dies Alone is an exciting book." -John Powers for Fresh Air / NPR Books We Like Top
"Summer Read" pick -On Point Raido, WBUR
"...a belated revelation." - San Francisco Chronicle
"...necessary and gripping." - The Oregonian
