Because of the triple narrative mentioned above, some critics argue Dog Years has a deeper density of detail in playing one point of view against the other, although it lacks the cohesiveness brought about by a single narrator. More noticeably than in The Tin Drum, however, the author lards the text with numerous instances of linguistic playfulness, which have received differing reactions. Some critics argue that the passages are self-indulgent, that perhaps Grass's phenomenal early success has interfered with his discipline as a storyteller. On the other hand, critics with a more Postmodernist inclination have praised these same passages as revealing greater dimensions of Grass's skill. The puns and particularly the parodies of style, such as that of Martin Heidegger's, have been highly praised and likened to the linguistic concerns in Joyce's works.

Time and narrative shift skillfully and the fantastic blends with the realistic, as when Amsel...