The Clown

The clown in this novel is Hans Schneir, a young professional entertainer in his late twenties. Hans is unable to work because of an injury sustained while he was drunk during a performance. He has recently been abandoned by his girlfriend because he is not willing to be married in a Catholic ceremony. He ruminates about the past and the impact of the war on his life and deteriorating relationships with his family who include a millionaire father and a mother who had been a Nazi party member. He drinks too much and tries to make a plan to win his lover back.

The author explores themes of dehumanization caused by war, religious prejudice, gross materialism and other manifestations of social disfunction in post-war Germany. It was widely criticized by the conservative German press for being anti-Catholic and liberal.

The book was originally published in Germany in 1963 with the title Ansichten eines Clowns by Verlag Kiepenheuer & Witsch.