Walter Kempowski's success as a West German writer is remarkable, considering that his works focus on family life in a region which is not part of the Federal Republic of Germany and that narratives with nationalistic themes (that is, emphasizing German customs and conduct) are generally viewed with disfavor by West German critics. In spite of these disadvantages Kempowski's novels and radio plays have been so well accepted that he occupies a prominent position among West German writers. He received the Prize for Developing Writers under the Auspices of the Lessing Prize of the City of Hamburg in 1971; the Prize for Developing Writers under the Auspices of the Gryphius Prize in 1972; the Karl Szuka Prize in 1977; the Lower Saxony Prize in 1979; the Bambi Prize in 1980; and in that same year, together with the filmmaker Eberhard Fechner, the Jakob Kaiser Prize. In 1981 he was awarded the Radio Play Prize...