Martin Walser, who has died aged 96, was a prolific novelist – at one point producing a book a year – but his role in German life was wider than that. He came to personify the complexities of the generation that came to adulthood as the second world war was ending, his long and controversial career spanning the entire period between then and the present day.
His writings were admired and criticised in equal measure. As Olaf Scholz, the chancellor, noted: “Generations of people have read his books, and his love of argument made for many lively debates.”
