Grass G. G77 Cats-and-Mice: [novella] / Günter Grass; Translated from German. — Moscow: Alpina Non-fiction, 2024. — 160 p. — (Series "Danzig Trilogy"). ISBN 978-5-00223-074-7 "Cats-and-Mice" is the second book of Günter Grass's "Danzig Trilogy", published shortly after the novel "The Tin Drum." At the center of the narrative is the story of teenager Joachim Mahlke, whose childhood and youth take place in wartime Danzig, in a militaristic atmosphere permeated by the spirit of National Socialism. A despised outsider, Mahlke tries to change others' attitudes toward himself and earn the glory of a hero but fails. Even the award he receives—the Knight's Cross—does not help him gain recognition. The grotesque story takes on tragic tones and turns into a cruel disappointment for the hero. Grass himself explains it as follows: "Mahlke's story exposes the church, the school, the cult of the hero—all society. In his case, everything turned out to be bankrupt." UDC 821.112.2-311.1 BBK 84(4Gem)-444