Tales of Grabowski comprises two novellas, Transformations, and Escape, together with several short stories, all of which tell the story of David Gordon, a young Jew from Warsaw, who transforms himself into Wladyslaw Grabowski, a Polish stoker in the German merchant marine.

Auerbach balances the internal tensions between Gordon’s desire to fight for revenge and Grabowski’s desperate need for survival. Throughout the war, involvement with espionage, with friends and smuggling, bring him ever closer to that thin line that separates life from death.

Drawing on deeply personal experiences-the story of Auerbach’s own survival-Transformations and Escape are undiscovered masterpieces of twentieth century writing.