Hans Herlin, 68; Wove Current Events Into Novels
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FRANKFURT, Germany — Hans Herlin, who wove current history into his novels, has died at the age of 68.
Herlin, whose best-known book, “Commentaries,” was published in 1975 in the United States, suffered a heart attack and died Tuesday at his home in the Burgundy region of southern France, St. Martin’s Press said Friday.
Herlin was one of only a handful of German authors whose novels have been published in the United States and England.
His first novel, “Friends,” was published in 1974 in 18 countries and sold 1 million copies, the publisher said.
Among his other works were “Fire in the Grass” and “Transfer to Siberia.” His publisher said that more than 10 million copies of his books were sold worldwide.
He was born in Stadtlohn in North-Rhine Westphalia state, and during World War II was drafted into the German Luftwaffe and trained as a pilot. He fled to Switzerland in 1944, at the age of 19, but returned to Germany after the war.
He moved back to Switzerland in 1972 and later went to France.
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