A cracking little book by Uwe Timm. It’s a beautiful mediation on women, men, circumstances, knitting and curried sausage.

It’s a lovely capture of a specific time and place, and reflection on what are really universal human relations. As the title indicates, at its heart is the search for the inventor of the Currywurst, a popular German fast-food consisting of hot pork sausage (cut into slices and seasoned with curry sauce (regularly consisting of tomato paste blended with curry) and generous amounts of curry powder,

As interesting as the mystery behind the sausage is though, for a short novel the arch is grand in scope: subtle resistance in a totalitarian state, post-war economics, gender relations in wartime, age and beauty, trust and desire, personal moments stolen during times of profound change.

It’s well worth the effort, and I couldn’t recommend it more highly. It won’t take too long to get through either.