Little Man, What Now?

Johannes and Bunny Pinneberg struggle to survive the harsh conditions of life in Germany during the years before the rise of Hitler

The only novel reviewed in this Broadcast that one can wax really enthusiastic over. And its history in Germany indicates real sales possibilities, as it has rivalled the success of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT over there. An intensely poignant story of two young Germans caught in the tide of the unemployment problem in Germany. There is a resemblance to the theme of NOBODY STARVES, but the approach is lighter, the handling is from the human standpoint rather than the laboratory method, and the tone has an upward lilt that is lacking in the American scene. Germany is more accustomed to grinding poverty, in this generation, and more eager to seize on simple pleasures, and the reflection of this is apparent in the book. One feels that at times there is a showing off of the modern spirit in the method of handling unnecessary subjects, but otherwise the book is intuitively human and natural, and in almost no sense sophisticated. The illustrations are misleading - done in a vein of caricature, by Georges Schreiber. They make the reader expect a satirical book in the Thurber and White tradition. A book the staff should read to sell. (Kirkus Reviews)