The Tanners

The Tanners follows siblings Simon, Klaus, Kaspar, Emil, and Hedwig Tanner through their daily lives in early 20th century Switzerland. Simon, the central character, drifts between jobs and living situations while observing the world around him with detachment. The novel progresses through a series of encounters, conversations, and reflections as the Tanner family members pursue their individual paths. Their stories intersect and diverge across various settings including offices, boarding houses, and the Swiss countryside. The siblings maintain complex relationships with each other while struggling to find their places in conventional society. Their mother and a cast of secondary characters move through their orbits, creating a portrait of middle-class life. The Tanners examines themes of work, family duty, and the tension between artistic sensibility and social conformity. Through its wandering narrative structure, the novel presents questions about purpose and authenticity in modern life.

Readers find The Tanners meandering and plotless, focusing more on observations and inner thoughts than traditional narrative. Many note its similarity to taking a long walk while lost in contemplation. Readers appreciate: - The stream-of-consciousness writing style - Detailed observations of everyday life - Subtle humor throughout - Walser's ability to capture fleeting moments and feelings Common criticisms: - Lack of clear plot direction - Characters who appear then disappear without resolution - Lengthy philosophical digressions - Translation issues that affect flow Ratings: Goodreads: 4.0/5 (300+ ratings) Amazon: 4.2/5 (25+ ratings) One reader called it "like listening to someone's thoughts while they wander aimlessly." Another noted it was "meditative but requires patience." Several reviewers mentioned abandoning the book partway through due to its wandering nature, while others praised this same quality as hypnotic and true to life.

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🌟 Robert Walser wrote The Tanners (originally "Geschwister Tanner") by hand in just six weeks during 1907, when he was only 29 years old. 🌟 The novel is semi-autobiographical, with the main character Simon Tanner sharing many characteristics with Walser himself, including his tendency to drift between jobs and his complex relationship with his siblings. 🌟 W.G. Sebald, the acclaimed German writer, considered The Tanners to be Walser's "most beautiful novel" and wrote an extensive essay about the book titled "Le Promeneur Solitaire." 🌟 The original German manuscript of The Tanners was lost, and the English translation by Susan Bernofsky wasn't published until 2009, more than 100 years after the book's initial publication. 🌟 During the period when he wrote The Tanners, Walser lived in Berlin and worked as a clerk at the Berliner Versicherungsgesellschaft insurance company, an experience that influenced several scenes in the novel.