The Rural We: Peter Steiner

Peter Steiner, of Sharon, Connecticut, is a celebrated author, cartoonist and painter. His latest thriller, "The Inconvenient German.” is the third in a series of historical fiction novels following the exploits of an anti-Nazi German rebel. The page-turner hit bookstores in November and is billed as “an atmospheric novel whose characters embody the best and worst of Germany in WWII.” He will be presenting a book talk on the work at the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon December 4, at 4 p.m. As a cartoonist Steiner has had a prolific career producing cartoons for magazines. In 1993 he crafted what has become the most reproduced cartoon in the history of The New Yorker Magazine: Two dogs sit at a computer and the one using it says to the other, “On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” – a culturally enduring, maybe perfect, joke.

I grew up in Cincinatti and lived in Washington D.C. for many years but I’ve lived in Sharon for 20 years now. It’s wonderful. We are outside of town and isolated, which I like. The countryside and the architecture are so gorgeous. We moved here when I was cartooning, and I could do that from anywhere.

With cartoons you have to get the point across with no words or as little words as possible. Being concise is absolutely imperative. That has informed my writing. I like my writing to disappear and support the action. I like the reader to fill in the spaces themselves.

I’ve always been interested in Germany. My parents emigrated here from Austria. I have a degree in German and taught German at Dickerson College for eight years in the 70s.

I’m captivated by World War II, and what that era revealed about our humanity. The Nazi experience is filled with interesting questions about how we become good and how we become evil. People are reduced to their essence in a situation like that.

When people read The Inconvenient German or come to the library event, mainly I want them to be amused. First of all, it’s entertainment, but I hope there are also thoughtful questions raised. When I write a book it’s me exploring questions for myself and attempting to find some resolution. I hope I somehow pass along that process to the reader. These questions about how people become evil are questions we need to be addressing today.

But, I’m old enough to know I don’t have much to teach, so mainly I just want people to be amused.