I read The Tin Drum as part of my pet project to read (or have read) at least one book by each of the authors mentioned in the lyrics of The Divine Comedy song 'The Booklovers'. As such, I had no idea what to expect and will admit to being somewhat daunted by this weighty - almost 600 pages - tome, all the more when I read that it was "a key text in European magical realism" since I'm afraid I've found Gabriel Garcia Marquez's American magical realism rather a chore. But in spite of that I enjoyed it a great deal and felt that same palpable sense of loss I'm apt to get whenever I finish a really good book. I devoured the adventures of Oscar Matzerath-Bronski and have added the rest of the Danzig trilogy to my reading list. Recommended.