Published in English as From the Diary of a Snail, this book mixes memoir, politics and fiction. Grass describes his work campaigning for Willy Brandt in the 1969 German election, travelling the country and speaking to voters. Alongside this he tells his children about a Jewish schoolteacher from Danzig, nicknamed Doubt, who lived through the Nazi years. The snail becomes a symbol for slow, patient progress. The book reflects on history, hope and the hard work of democratic life.