Biography

Being awarded the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, he criticized in his acceptance speech that the debate about the Third Reich's cruelties was overestimated in the intellectual and everyday life in Germany. His statement arouse an emotional public discussion. Ignatz Bubis, influential chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, accused Walser of wanting to "normalize" the Nazi past. Their following, partly furious dispute was later called "The Walser-Bubis Debate" (11 October 1998).

He was accused of anti-Semitism, when his book "Tod eines Kritikers" (Death of a Critic) was released. In this crime story, the (apparently) murdered Jewish character "André Ehrl-Koenig" was portrayed to be a selfish, rude and arrogant person. Though fictive, the character had clearly been derived from famous Jewish literary critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki. The influential publisher of German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 'Frank Schirrmacher', scourged the book to be "a document of hate". In the following public discussion, Walser always strongly denied to be anti-Semitic (2002).

One of Germany's most successful living authors, writing successful novels such as "Rabbit race" (1963), "Runaway horse" (1978) or "No Man's Land" (1988).

Father-in-law of actor Edgar Selge and lyricist Sascha Anderson.

His parents owned an inn on Lake Constance.