What do I need to know before reading The Tin Drum?

Hello everyone,

I consider myself a rather new and self-professed dilettante reader of the classics with no formal background in literature studies.

I’ve recently started reading the Tin Drum by Gunter Grass but I realized I probably should do research on this book before moving deeper into the work.

What would you say is important background information to know before reading this book? What themes and aspects should I have in mind as I progress through the work? It seems like there has an undeniable political & historical dimension that I don’t want to miss and I want to make sure I get the most of the book.

Thank you very much for your input!