Some months ago, reviewing Arno Schmidt's The Egghead Republic, I asked rhetorically: which is the more bleakly unfunny, German humorous writing or German serious writing? Sleepless Days provides some evidence to suggest that it is the former. It is intensely, almost paralysingly, serious but includes a few deliberate jests. These are not, however, the reason why the work is funnier than The Egghead Republic since they, like the gags in Schmidt's book, are painfully laboured. No, it is the unconscious humour which occasionally disperses the pall of metaphysical gloom and provides the reader with a chuckle or two….

Jurek Becker's short novel is dedicated to exposing the dangers of dehumanisation but a critic can't help wondering if the style might not be more harmful than the message is benign. (p. 24)

Simrock's revolt [against his life-style] has been so meek as to make it impossible to credit him with...