Reading the 20th Century discussion

Every month we discuss a book on a specific era or a theme. This book will be the winner of a group poll.


Our December 2021 theme is Weimar Germany

If you feel inspired, please nominate a 20th century book centred around Weimar Germany that you would like to read and discuss. It could be fiction or non-fiction

Please supply the title, author, a brief synopsis, and anything else you'd like to mention about the book, and why you think it might make a good book to discuss.

Happy nominating.

Worth mentioning that we have already read and discussed...


The Artificial Silk Girl

and

The Berlin Stories


I can't think of any other Weimar related books we have discussed but please comment if you can think of any others

A couple I am mulling over


The first book is...

Berlin in Lights: The Diaries of Count Harry Kessler by Harry Graf Kessler

According to historian Robert Gerwarth:

"....these are the diaries of, I would argue, one of the most interesting characters in Weimar Germany. There are lots of interesting characters in the Weimar Republic, but he stands out, not just for biographical reasons, but because he is one of the main chroniclers of what is going on in those years.

The diaries cover the years 1918 to 1937. Kessler himself was born in Paris in 1868. He was the son of a wealthy Hamburg banker and an Anglo-Irish noblewoman, who was famous at the time for being one of the most beautiful women of her era. She was pursued by many powerful men including, allegedly, Kaiser Wilhelm I himself. In any case, he grew up in an extremely privileged setting and enjoyed an elite education in various countries. He studied law and became a very multicultural, multilingual, cosmopolitan figure, who embarked, as a young man, on journeys around the world from Japan to China, India, Egypt and elsewhere.

His father died in the mid-1890s, leaving Kessler an enormous amount of money, so he was in the fortunate position of never having to work too hard to finance his fairly extravagant lifestyle. He spent his days as a dandy figure and collector of art. He met many artists as well, from Rodin to Maillol. Edvard Munch painted his portrait in 1906. In the context of Weimar, from 1918, he chronicled not just political events, but also his meetings with lots of interesting characters. He became friends with people like Igor Stravinsky, George Grosz, John Heartfield, had Einstein over for supper and met up with leading politicians such as Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau.

He was an interesting intellectual. He had a very brief stint as a diplomat, as ambassador to Warsaw in the winter of 1918, and remained involved in liberal politics. He was also very involved in the arts both before the Great War and after. In 1902 he temporarily moved to Weimar which was, of course, the spiritual home of Goethe and Schiller, but also a symbolically important city after 1918 because the German National Assembly met there in the spring of 1919 to draft Germany’s new constitution. Subsequently, it also become very closely connected with the Bauhaus and also has an important fine arts museum, which Kessler helped to put on the international map through his vast connections to the art scene in Paris, and elsewhere.

So he’s really interesting as a curator, as a patron of the arts, but also as a socialite and political observer who engages with lots of different figures.

SOURCE: https://fivebooks.com/best-books/weim...


The second book is....

Little Man, What Now? by Hans Fallada

I've read three books by Hans Fallada and a biography. Fallada is a great contemporaneous writer and this books looks like another winner. This one deals with the fallout of the Great Depression, which was the big game-changer in Weimar history.

First published in 1932 and it is set between 1930 and 1932, at the height of the Great Depression. The ‘little man’ in question is Johannes Pinneberg, a bookkeeper from northern Germany, and his girlfriend Emma, who is expecting their son. Just after they find out that she’s pregnant, he is fired from his job and must now find ways to make do in the middle of the world’s worst economic crisis. He tries to find a new job in Berlin and is hired as a salesman in one of the large Berlin department stores, where he and his colleagues have to meet extremely ambitious quotas to keep their jobs. Otherwise they get fired. The book really depicts how people became more and more dependent on occasional labour, how businesses became more and more exploitative because they knew that there was a large sea of unemployed people who could be forced to accept any work conditions.

SOURCE: https://fivebooks.com/best-books/weim...

One I've been meaning to read is Gabriele Tergit's Käsebier Takes Berlin another is Erich Kastner's Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist

This is a topic I know very little about, and I would have gone for Isherwood who I haven't read so glad you pointed out the group has read him, Nigeyb. I also haven't read Hans Fallada.

I'm thinking about Gilgi, One of Us by Irmgard Keun, or Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum, though I know we had quite mixed responses to Keun's Artificial Silk Girl.

Gilgi, One of Us
A brilliant, bestselling feminist novel from Weimar Germany, from the author of Child of All Nations

Gilgi knows where she's going in life: she's ambitious, focused and determined, even when her boss tries it on with her, even when her parents reveal a terrible secret on her twenty-first birthday. Then she meets the charming but feckless Martin and, for the first time, Gilgi finds herself bewilderingly and dangerously derailed. Irmgard Keun's electrifying debut was an instant sensation in Weimar Germany, with its frank, fearless exploration of sex, work and love.

Grand Hotel
A grand hotel in the center of 1920s Berlin serves as a microcosm of the modern world in Vicki Baum’s celebrated novel, a Weimar-era bestseller that retains all its verve and luster today.

Among the guests of the hotel is Dr. Otternschlag, a World War I veteran whose face has been sliced in half by a shell. Day after day he emerges to read the paper in the lobby, discreetly inquiring at the desk if the letter he’s been awaiting for years has arrived. Then there is Grusinskaya, a great ballerina now fighting a losing battle not so much against age as against her fear of it, and Gaigern, a sleek professional thief, who may or may not be made for each other. Herr Preysing also checks in, the director of a family firm that isn’t as flourishing as it appears, who would never imagine that Kringelein, his underling, a timorous petty clerk he’s bullied for years, has also come to Berlin, determined to live at last now that he’s received a medical death sentence. All these characters and more, with their secret fears and hopes, come together and come alive in the pages of Baum’s delicious and disturbing masterpiece.

There is also a Weimar GR list here, mostly non-fiction: www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/weimar-r...

Roman Clodia wrote: "This is a topic I know very little about, and I would have gone for Isherwood who I haven't read so glad you pointed out the group has read him, Nigeyb. I also haven't read Hans Fallada.

I'm think..."

I enjoyed 'Gilgi' immensely it works well with Keun's other Weimar novels, the Baum I was less keen on, it's a very old-school story, quite over-written and melodramatic in places, although some of the characters are quite striking. It's a shame about Isherwood I'd like to revisit his Berlin books, particularly Mr Norris Changes Trains

Grand Hotel sounds interesting and has the advantages of having been a bestseller of the era and of having been written contemporaneously. So ... no "benefit" of hindsight.

I also like the idea of Kaseber, for the same reasons.

Ben wrote: "Grand Hotel sounds interesting and has the advantages of having been a bestseller of the era and of having been written contemporaneously. So ... no "benefit" of hindsight."

Yes it's definitely intended as a microcosm of Berlin society at the time, and I didn't find it an off-putting read, just a bit turgid at times. It's very similar in feel to the movie version, minus the lure of Greta Garbo. And in a sense the style's reasonable, it's essentially a commercial, blockbuster, more focused on story and plot than on style.

Ben wrote: "I also like the idea of Kaseber, for the same reasons."

Definitely, if I hadn't read the Baum would happily read it, but it's not a book I'd be desperate to revisit, once was enough!

Initially I was sold on Grand Hotel, but these two also sound interesting:

Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabokov

March Violets by Philip Kerr

Kathleen wrote: "Initially I was sold on Grand Hotel, but these two also sound interesting:

Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabokov

[bookcover:March..."

The Kerr's quite a decent, noirish crime novel, very Fritz Lang in atmosphere, I haven't read the Nabokov but sounds very promising.

Ben wrote: "Grand Hotel sounds interesting and has the advantages of having been a bestseller of the era and of having been written contemporaneously. So ... no "benefit" of hindsight."

Same applies to the Fallada too Ben.

Little Man, What Now? by Hans Fallada was published in 1932

Here are another couple of contemporaneous and popular books worth thinking about....

Berlin Alexanderplatz (1929) by Alfred Döblin

and

The Spider's Web (1929) by Joseph Roth

The Doblin might be a bit of a slog, I saw the adaptation which was really good, also very long, the Roth sounds interesting, but I'm a Roth fan, so bound to think that. Although he's quite a patchy writer.

Alwynne wrote: "It's a shame about Isherwood I'd like to revisit his Berlin books, particularly Mr Norris Changes Trains"

You can always revive old discussions Alwynne

I'm always up for a bit of Isherwood chat. Here it is...

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

That said, The Berlin Stories contains both The Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin so we never actually discussed Mr Norris Changes Trains - on that basis it would make a good nomination

We've got an Isherwood author thread too....

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Alwynne wrote: "The Kerr's quite a decent, noirish crime novel, very Fritz Lang in atmosphere, I haven't read the Nabokov but sounds very promising."

Good to know--thanks, Alwynne!

I have been interested in Berlin Alexanderplatz, and from what I've read it looks like a must-read. Quite long, but this is a December read, so maybe no harm if it carries over into the new year!

Kathleen wrote: "Initially I was sold on Grand Hotel, but these two also sound interesting:

Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabokov"

I looked at that too as I love Nabokov and we've never read him in this group I think.

And we have our very own Philip Kerr experts here in Susan and Nigeyb!

Hmm, thanks Alwynne for comments re Grand Hotel - though maybe a commercial blockbuster might be appropriate for December/Christmas :)

Kathleen wrote: "Alwynne wrote: "The Kerr's quite a decent, noirish crime novel, very Fritz Lang in atmosphere, I haven't read the Nabokov but sounds very promising."

Good to know--thanks, Alwynne!

I have been in..."

Yes the Doblin's a book I feel I should read at some point particularly now there's a recent translation that's had such good reviews. Quite honestly a lot of these are tempting, but I did a German literature reading challenge on GR last year and doing it again this year so it fits with that.

Roman Clodia wrote: "Kathleen wrote: "Initially I was sold on Grand Hotel, but these two also sound interesting:

Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabokov"..."

Absolutely and I'm happy to skip over a group read I have a lot to get through anyway. And it may well be that others will like this more than I did. It just felt very dated/sentimental compared to novels like Keun's or work by people like Roth.

Edit: think this may sound a bit disgruntled, juggling boiler companies so a bit frazzled. Gone from no prospects to too many and can't work out which to go for!

I’m not sure how this works, but if we are to second books, I’ll second Grand Hotel because it’s on my TBR. I would also love to read more Nabakov.
Berlin Alexanderplatz completely eluded me, but I know it’s considered a classic.

Each person can nominate one book. So choose the one you most want to read. Once we have all the nominations, we run a poll to determine the title we will read and discuss

I’ll nominate The Grand Hotel also then.

Splendid. Thanks


Nominations so far

WndyJW: Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum

I will nominate Black List Section H

This remarkable and powerful novel is described by Stuart himself as an imaginative fiction in which only real people appear, and under their actual names where possible', and it is generally agreed to be his masterpiece. Originally published in 1971 in the USA, now published for the first time in Ireland, it bears witness to the dilemmas presented by love and art, following H through his disastrous marriage to Iseult Gonne, the Irish Civil War, interment, and life as a writer, poultry farmer, racehorse owner and bohemian in 1930s London, before his defection' to Berlin for the duration of the Second World War. The painstaking, unsettling story of H's search for authenticity under exilic conditions of dishonor and European collapse is one of spiritual quest. Branded a fascist because of ambivalent associations with Nazi Germany-his books were banned until Victor Gollancz risked ostracism by publishing him in the 1940s-Stuart cultivates and embodies the art of the outsider. 'A book of the finest imaginative distinction' -Lawrence Durrell, The New York Times Book Review 'The strangest book of a strange career….Mr. Stuart is of Rimbaud's damned and illuminated company' -Robert Nye, The Guardian 'Riveting autobiographical fiction…this chilling odyssey is both extreme and complicated; its power and strangeness, as well as the half-lit world it recalls, make it an underground classic which should now receive the attention it deserves'. -Roy Foster, The Sunday Times

I haven't actually read it so, on the odd chance anyone votes for it or reads it, I apologise if it isn't as interesting as it sounds!

Susan wrote: "I will nominate Black List Section H

This remarkable and powerful novel is described by Stuart himself as an imaginative fiction in which ..."

That sounds really interesting have added it to my list. Is it technically a Weimar book though? The description suggests the section in Germany is set post Weimar Republic.

Susan wrote: "I will nominate Black List Section H"

Ooh, looks controversial (i.e. interesting), Susan! I'd never heard of either the book or the author - good choice!

Now that Grand Hotel is in the poll (thanks Wendy!) I'm going to nominate Gilgi, One of Us by Irmgard Keun - I'll see what I feel like voting for when the time comes.

A brilliant, bestselling feminist novel from Weimar Germany.

Gilgi knows where she's going in life: she's ambitious, focused and determined, even when her boss tries it on with her, even when her parents reveal a terrible secret on her twenty-first birthday. Then she meets the charming but feckless Martin and, for the first time, Gilgi finds herself bewilderingly and dangerously derailed. Irmgard Keun's electrifying debut was an instant sensation in Weimar Germany, with its frank, fearless exploration of sex, work and love.

I found it in a list of book about the Weimar Republic, but am happy to swop it for Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist if it is out of period.

Susan wrote: "I found it in a list of book about the Weimar Republic, but am happy to swop it for Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist [bookcover:Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist|..."

From a brief Google seems he ended up in Germany during WW2, and was elsewhere during Weimar, but sounds as if he was a bit of a controversial figure in general and a later source of embarrassment for Colm Toibin who originally wrote the intro to the Penguin edition of the novel. There's an article on this in The Guardian dated 7/1/2001 by Henry MacDonald titled "Novelist's anti-Semitic past exposed" would link to it but GR seems to have banned that again.

This is the start of the article, very easy to Google it:

Novelist's anti-semitic past exposed
Book unearths anti-Jewish views of Francis Stuart
Henry McDonald, Ireland editor
Sun 7 Jan 2001 01.34 GMT
New evidence has shown that the controversial Irish author Francis Stuart, who lived in Nazi Germany during the war, was anti-semitic.

Stuart, who died last year aged 97, angrily denied the charge and won IR£100,000 in libel damages from the Irish Times. He also sued a magazine which printed a letter accusing him of being a Nazi.

Now a new book on Stuart's writings and wartime broadcasts has shown that Stuart held anti-semitic opinions as far back as 1924.

And those on the sharp end of the late writer's litigation are bitter that had the new evidence been available even 18 months ago they would not have had to pay damages.

Roman Clodia wrote: "This is the start of the article, very easy to Google it:

Novelist's anti-semitic past exposed
Book unearths anti-Jewish views of Francis Stuart
Henry McDonald, Ireland editor
Sun 7 Jan 2001 01.34..."

Thanks RC, GR's back to that old warning message about outside links.

I'd never seen that before about not being able to post links... it's an interesting article in any case, and Stuart more controversial than I knew when I said that earlier. It's quite well known now, isn't is, that the IRA had links with Hitler's Germany following that old adage of 'my enemy's enemy is my friend', and thought that a Nazi victory would lead to a free and united Ireland.

I'll go ahead and nominate the Nabokov. It may be a little too Lolita-like for some, but we shall see!


Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabokov

From New Directions Books:
“Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called Albinus. He was rich, respectable, happy; one day he abandoned his wife for the sake of a youthful mistress; he loved; was not loved; and his life ended in disaster.” Thus begins Vladimir Nabokov’s Laughter in the Dark; and this, the author tells us, is the whole story—except that he starts from here, with his characteristic dazzling skill and irony, and brilliantly turns a fable into a chilling, original novel of folly and destruction. Amidst a Weimar-era milieu of silent film stars, artists, and aspirants, Nabokov creates a merciless masterpiece as Albinus, an aging critic, falls prey to his own desires, to his teenage mistress, and to Axel Rex, the scheming rival for her affections who finds his greatest joy in the downfall of others. Published first in Russian as Kamera Obskura in 1932, this book appeared in Nabokov’s own English translation six years later.

“A dazzling, cinematic masterpiece, beautiful, cruel, and horribly funny.” - John Banville

“Laughter in the Dark is a cruel little masterpiece, one of those books… from which nothing could be taken away and to which nothing could be added without damage done.” - London Times Literary Supplement

Roman Clodia wrote: "I'd never seen that before about not being able to post links... it's an interesting article in any case, and Stuart more controversial than I knew when I said that earlier. It's quite well known n..."

It was happening for a while a couple of weeks ago then it stopped again, it was related to a security issue re: spam embedded in links. The software's glitching a bit in general, I got a message via a mutual GR friend that someone tried to send me a friend request but the text box that enables a reply to my challenge question isn't showing up, so impossible to do.

Nigeyb wrote: "That said, The Berlin Stories contains both The Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin so we never actually discussed Mr Norris Changes Trains.."

Nigeyb, The Last of Mr Norris is actually the US title for Mr Norris Changes Trains - I remember this came up during our discussion and apparently the publisher said that "changing trains" was an expression not known in the US, but, as I remember, some of our US members disagreed and said they had often heard it!

Kathleen wrote: "Initially I was sold on Grand Hotel, but these two also sound interesting:

Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabokov

March Violetsby Philip Kerr"

Kathleen, I believe March Violets is set mainly during the Nazi period - there may be some flashbacks to the Weimar period, not sure. I know we have some Philip Kerr admirers in the group who should be able to confirm.

I have not read Isherwood, but was interested. There was initial reference to the Group's discussion of the combined volume of two 200 page novels as stated here: The Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr. Norris & Goodbye to Berlin.
Then Mr Norris Changes Trains was mentioned, which I thought was a third Berlin novel, but appears that it is instead just another title for The Last of Mr. Norris.
So the combined volume can be stated as either
The Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr. Norris & Goodbye To Berlin: or
The Berlin Novels: Mr Norris Changes Trains & Goodbye to Berlin

Is this accurate?

This reminds me of when I was similarly confused by Hans Fallada's Alone in Berlin and Every Man Dies Alone which turned out to both be titles for the same book. I did enjoy his Little Man, What Now? which Nigeyb has mentioned.

I once had Berlin Alexanderplatz on my must read sometime list, but the more I read about it and the older I get the less I think I'm up for tackling that type of book. However, it does seem to be a great fit for this topic for the more adventurous folk on here.

I'll nominate Gabriele Tergit's Käsebier Takes Berlin

Brian wrote: "I have not read Isherwood, but was interested. There was initial reference to the Group's discussion of the combined volume of two 200 page novels as stated here: [book:The Berlin Stories: The Last..."

Yes that's right Brian.

Alwynne wrote: "Yes that's right Brian.."

Thanks, Alwynne!

EDIT: Oops. During the overly long time I spent writing my original question, I see that Judy had already answered the question.

I have a couple on my shelves and on the Kindle. Not totally sure of their prices. I don't think I have started any of these books.

Weimar Culture: The Outsider as Insider by Peter Gay. Seems to be basically a study of German culture between the wars.

The Partnership: Brecht, Weill, Three Women, and Germany on the Brink by Pamela Katz. 498 pp. How the genius and volatile partnership, plus the three women who meant something to them, include Lotte Lenya, came together to do Threepenny Opera, etc., and subsequently split rancorously.

Billy Wilder on Assignment: Dispatches from Weimar Berlin and Interwar Vienna, Billy Wilder, edited by Noah Isenberg. Prior to his arrival in America and fame as a screenplay writer and director, he was a freelance reporter in Vienna and in Weimar Berlin. Dispatches published between 1925-1930.

Before the Deluge: A Portrait of Berlin in the 1920s by Otto Friedrich. This covers the period between 1918-1933 when Hitler took over. This is 392 pp.

Re Mr. Norris/Goodbye to Berlin - I think we read this/these in our old group. I think I may still be reading Goodbye but I did enjoy Mr. Norris. I think I bought them separately on Kindle.

I think I will nominate Weimar Culture.

Jan C wrote: "I have a couple on my shelves and on the Kindle. Not totally sure of their prices. I don't think I have started any of these books.

Weimar Culture: The Outsider as Insider by [author..."

Thanks for the list Jan, I have a copy of the book about Brecht and his relationships, must dig it out. If you're interested in Wilder in Germany there's some interesting material in Lara Feigel's [book:The Bitter Taste of Victory|29523001] which I'd recommend in general.

Judy wrote: "Nigeyb, The Last of Mr Norris is actually the US title for Mr Norris Changes Trains - I remember this came up during our discussion and apparently the publisher said that "changing trains" was an expression not known in the US, but, as I remember, some of our US members disagreed and said they had often heard it!"

Ah. Well remembered. Thanks for the clarification. I really remember two Mr Norris books but I must have misremembered. Norris is quite a character and based on a real person - I'd have to look up who.

Judy wrote: "Kathleen, I believe March Violets is set mainly during the Nazi period - there may be some flashbacks to the Weimar period, not sure. I know we have some Philip Kerr admirers in the group who should be able to confirm."

That's my recollection too

Weimar Germany was 1918-1933

I've just summarised the nominations below. I think I've got everything. I'm doing it a bit bleary eyed so please double check that your nomination is included


Nominations so far

Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum (WndyJW)
Gilgi, One of Us by Irmgard Keun (Roman Clodia)
Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist by Erich Kästner (Susan)
Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabokov (Kathleen)
Käsebier Takes Berlin by Gabriele Tergit (Alwynne)
Weimar Culture: The Outsider as Insider by Peter Gay (Jan)
Little Man, What Now? by Hans Fallada (Nigeyb)


Roman Clodia wrote: "I think Kathleen's nomination of Laughter in the Dark by Nabokov got truncated in your listing (but it is very early in the morning, so allowed!)"

Now corrected

Thanks

Thanks, Nigeyb.

I think Kathleen's nomination of Laughter in the Dark by Nabokov got truncated in your listing (but it is very early in the morning, so allowed!)

What a great selection, everyone! This is a topic where I'd love to read a historical account/non-fiction. When we did this period at school ('the rise of Hitler'), we did the fallout from the post-WW1 Versailles Treaty, rising inflation etc., but the Weimar Republic was never explicitly mentioned so I feel ill-informed about the politics of this era.

I was thinking of nominating Three Comrades by Erich Maria Remarque, but as it is a bit pricey on Kindle and we have so many great nominations already, I won't nominate this time around.

I've read a couple of books by Hans Fallada....



Every Man Dies Alone (USA title) / Alone in Berlin (UK title) (1947)

Nightmare in Berlin (1947)


...both were splendid




Hans Fallada (21 July 1893 – 5 February 1947) was a German writer of the first half of the 20th century. Some of his better known novels include Little Man, What Now? (1932) and Every Man Dies Alone (1947).

I've also read one enjoyable biography...

More Lives Than One: A Biography of Hans Fallada by Jenny Williams

Fallada's books give a great insight into life at that time being written contemporaneously

Hans Fallada was all but forgotten outside Germany when his 1947 novel, Alone in Berlin (US title: Every Man Dies Alone), was reissued in English in 2009, whereupon it became a best seller and reintroduced Hans Fallada's work to a new generation of readers.

Roman Clodia wrote: "What a great selection, everyone! This is a topic where I'd love to read a historical account/non-fiction. When we did this period at school ('the rise of Hitler'), we did the fallout from the post..."

Darkness Falling: The Strange Death of the Weimar Republic, 1930-33 is a title I came across, RC. I love non-fiction, as you know, but it rarely does well in the vote, so I didn't bother to nominate it, but the blurb is:

In March 1930, after the collapse of the coalition that had ruled Germany since 1928, President Hindenburg asked Heinrich Bruning, bespectacled and scholarly leader of the Catholic Centre Party, to form a government. Some three years later, in January 1933, Hindenburg appointed as chancellor the demagogic, virulently anti-Semitic leader of the National Socialist party. Within weeks, Adolf Hitler has begun the process of dismantling the flawed democracy of the Weimar Republic and replacing it with a one-party totalitarian state.

Darkness Falling depicts in compelling fashion the serial crises and mounting violence of a febrile era. Peter Walther examines the slow death of Weimar through the prism of nine colourful protagonists, including leading German politicians of right, left and centre, the clairvoyant and occultist, Erik Jan Hanussen and the formidable American journalist Dorothy Thompson. He profiles these heterogeneous characters in intriguing detail, pulling together the threads of their lives to chart the demise of German parliamentary democracy and the rise of National Socialist tyranny. Along the way we gain fascinating insights into the machinations in the corridors of power to keep the 'Bohemian corporal' from the chancellorship, and the venality of the Nazi elite and its fellow travellers from the demi-monde of early 1930s Berlin. Walther evokes the louche nightlife of the German capital – 'a playground for charlatans and prophets, madmen and crooks' – memorably and atmospherically.

A masterly fusion of meticulously researched historical writing and vividly propulsive storytelling, Darkness Falling is a distinctive and enthralling account of Germany's slide from democracy to dictatorship.

Brian wrote:


"I did enjoy his Little Man, What Now? which Nigeyb has mentioned."

Thanks Brian. Coincidentally, I nominate....


Little Man, What Now? (1932) by Hans Fallada

...which I am confident will be a great read and one that would yield many interesting insights and discussion points.


More about Little Man, What Now? (1932)....

From the bestselling author of Alone in Berlin, his acclaimed novel of a young couple trying to survive life in 1930s Germany

A young couple fall in love, get married and start a family, like countless young couples before them. But Lämmchen and 'Boy' live in Berlin in 1932, and everything is changing. As they desperately try to make ends meet amid bullying bosses, unpaid bills, monstrous mothers-in-law and Nazi streetfighters, will love be enough?

The novel that made Hans Fallada's name as a writer, Little Man, What Now? tells the story of one of European literature's most touching couples and is filled with an extraordinary mixture of comedy and desperation. It was published just before Hitler came to power and remains a haunting portrayal of innocents whose world is about to be swept away forever. This brilliant new translation by Michael Hofmann brings to life an entire era of austerity and turmoil in Weimar Germany.

'An inspired work of a great writer ... Fallada is a genius. The "Little Man" is Mr Everybody' - Beryl Bainbridge

'There are chapters which pluck the nerves...there are chapters which raise the spirits like a fine day in the country. The truth and variety of the characterization is superb...it recognizes that the world is not to be altered with moral fables' - Graham Greene

'Fallada deserves high praise for having reported so realistically, so truthfully, with such closeness to life' - Herman Hesse

'Fallada at his best' - Philip Hensher

'Performs the most astounding task, of taking us to a moment before history' - Los Angeles Review of Books