Specify Out Of Books The Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr Norris/Goodbye to Berlin (The Berlin Novels #1-2)
| Title | : | The Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr Norris/Goodbye to Berlin (The Berlin Novels #1-2) |
| Author | : | Christopher Isherwood |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 401 pages |
| Published | : | June 1st 1963 by New Directions (first published 1945) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Classics. Short Stories. Historical. Historical Fiction. Cultural. Germany. Literature. LGBT |
Christopher Isherwood
Paperback | Pages: 401 pages Rating: 4.03 | 10416 Users | 540 Reviews
Explanation Supposing Books The Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr Norris/Goodbye to Berlin (The Berlin Novels #1-2)
A classic of 20th-century fiction, The Berlin Stories inspired the Broadway musical and Oscar-winning film Cabaret.
First published in the 1930s, The Berlin Stories contains two astonishing related novels, The Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin, which are recognized today as classics of modern fiction. Isherwood magnificently captures 1931 Berlin: charming, with its avenues and cafés; marvelously grotesque, with its nightlife and dreamers; dangerous, with its vice and intrigue; powerful and seedy, with its mobs and millionaires—this is the period when Hitler was beginning his move to power. The Berlin Stories is inhabited by a wealth of characters: the unforgettable Sally Bowles, whose misadventures in the demimonde were popularized on the American stage and screen by Julie Harris in I Am A Camera and Liza Minnelli in Cabaret; Mr. Norris, the improbable old debauchee mysteriously caught between the Nazis and the Communists; plump Fräulein Schroeder, who thinks an operation to reduce the scale of her Büste might relieve her heart palpitations; and the distinguished and doomed Jewish family, the Landauers.Declare Books Toward The Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr Norris/Goodbye to Berlin (The Berlin Novels #1-2)
| Original Title: | The Berlin Stories: Mr Norris Changes Trains / Goodbye to Berlin |
| ISBN: | 0811200701 (ISBN13: 9780811200707) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | The Berlin Novels #1-2 |
| Setting: | Germany Berlin(Germany) |
Rating Out Of Books The Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr Norris/Goodbye to Berlin (The Berlin Novels #1-2)
Ratings: 4.03 From 10416 Users | 540 ReviewsWrite-Up Out Of Books The Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr Norris/Goodbye to Berlin (The Berlin Novels #1-2)
Isherwoods style is starkly magnificent, blending dark humor with the deepest human tragedies. His view of Berlin and its people just before the rise of the Nazis is merciless in its realism, but at the same time, it is colored with an unconditional love for the various people he meets, belonging to all sorts of different social cliques in Berlin. Though his sympathies lie distinctly with the marginalized classes, Isherwood does not shirk from portraying his characters with an objectiveUPDATE Aug 2106 ... tried again ... just as boring After starting with great expectations, I found "The Berlin Stories" to be incredibly boring. The GR reviews of the book were far more interesting (for me) than the book itself. I guess I like character development as an adjunct to a plot, but not so much all by itself. I found no reason to care about the characters and the minutia of their lives, no matter how well described they were. A pity, since so much was happening in Germany in the time
Isherwood's own thoughtful, gentle, fallible nature, which the reader understands and idnetifies with immediately, stands in haunting contrast to the ominous changes taking place in Berlin during his stay there (1930-1934). For me, at least, the novel brings home--in a deeply personal way--how uncertain the political outcomes were as late as 1932; and then, how swiftly and crushingly the tides shifted. It also gives names and personalities to people--Nazis, communists, politcal know-nothings,
Uneven, but strangely powerful. I'm not sure why.
This was again a new author for me and I found I quite enjoyed reading this. The first of the novellas the Last of Mr Norris reminded me very much of Travels with My Aunt. Mr Norris (who our narratora version of Isherwoodmeets on a train) is a reprobate, and his dealings (and connections), almost always dubious. But our narrator takes to him in a sense and finds himself amidst (sometimes as a mere observer, but at others more involved) Norris life and friendsall with varying degrees of
Recently, I have had some interesting reading experiences with book choices for one of my Goodreads groups, Reading the 20th Century. A recent read was Dorothy Whipples, Someone at a Distance, which I initially thought would be boring, but found that I loved. Meanwhile, on paper, The Berlin Novels, looked like the type of book which would appeal to me. After all, despite the fact that I have watched virtually no films all the way through, I have seen, and enjoyed, Cabaret, which was taken from
I wanted to like this book....or maybe it's a collection. Isherwood was only a distant observer.....he conveyed no emotional involvement with the changes going on in Germany or the people around him. His detachment became wearing and made the stories boring, and I kept picturing Michael York instead of Isherwood.
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