This is the third book I've read by Hans Fallada and he never fails to impress me! This book tells the story of Erwin a successful but overly sensitive business man who slowly loses everything he has accomplished in life because of his insecurity and alcoholism. It's an astonishing read, not only because it's well written but because Herr Fallada wrote the book in code while in a Nazi asylum where he was recovering from his own alcoholism and addiction to morphine. I would recommend this book to anyone.