Der Gehülfe

by Robert Walser

"Der Gehülfe" by Robert Walser is a novel written in 1907 and published in 1908. Twenty-four-year-old Joseph Marti takes a position as assistant to Carl Tobler, an inventor living in a lakeside villa with his family. Over six months, Joseph witnesses the slow unraveling of the household as Tobler's inventions fail to find buyers and debts mount. Between garden parties and business trips, the gap widens between the family's elegant lifestyle and their desperate financial reality.