Alone in Berlin
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A unique view from inside ? What did you feel?
Sharon
(last edited
Jan 12, 2013 01:31AM
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Dec 27, 2011 12:55AM
Every Man Dies Alone. Alternate title....
Reading the history of Hans Fallada and the publication history of this particular book of his, is in itself fascinating. That this book did not get a distribution in the excellent translated form that Hoffmann gives it until recently is amazing and a bit sad as I think this is a book to make many think on how difficult it is for ordinary people caught up in huge political and ideological sweeps within their country! Well, out of their control. How do you react? Can you react? Keeping in mind how many horrible conflicts of power and struggle we see daily on the international news, it is indeed something to ponder....
I DO NOT SEEM YO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE A DISCUSSION I STARTED ON THIS MARVELOUS BOOK SADLY BUT WANTED TO SAY I AM SO PLEASED TO SEE SO MANY EXPRESS THEIR OPINIONS.
Reading the history of Hans Fallada and the publication history of this particular book of his, is in itself fascinating. That this book did not get a distribution in the excellent translated form that Hoffmann gives it until recently is amazing and a bit sad as I think this is a book to make many think on how difficult it is for ordinary people caught up in huge political and ideological sweeps within their country! Well, out of their control. How do you react? Can you react? Keeping in mind how many horrible conflicts of power and struggle we see daily on the international news, it is indeed something to ponder....
I DO NOT SEEM YO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE A DISCUSSION I STARTED ON THIS MARVELOUS BOOK SADLY BUT WANTED TO SAY I AM SO PLEASED TO SEE SO MANY EXPRESS THEIR OPINIONS.
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I agree with so many of the accolades above. I loved this book. It wasn't like so many of the dozens and dozens of WWII historical fiction books I've also enjoyed. It will remain with me for so much longer than it took the author to write it. I am haunted by the question, "if I do something to make a statement, or make a difference, is it worth it if the only person that feels the difference, or hears the statement is me?"
I agree. This novel has become a recent favourite of mine, largely due to the feeling of eye witness accuracy that pervaded the whole work. Fallada's criticism of Nazi Germany is much more powerful than if someone today criticizes the people of WWII era Germany for inaction, because the current observer is far removed from the actual events and does not truly know the fear of living under totalitarianism.
A work like Every Man Dies Alone is unrepeatable and is a phenomenon of its time. Subsequent generations can still write fascinating novels about life in Nazi Germany but can never capture the hands on, eye witness experience of a gifted and insightful artist like Fallada who is able to paint the portraits of Berliners from all walks of life and from both sides of the conflict.
A work like Every Man Dies Alone is unrepeatable and is a phenomenon of its time. Subsequent generations can still write fascinating novels about life in Nazi Germany but can never capture the hands on, eye witness experience of a gifted and insightful artist like Fallada who is able to paint the portraits of Berliners from all walks of life and from both sides of the conflict.
It was a beautiful book.Felt helpless,I just wanted to yell out when he was at the staircase leaving the note.
It was a completely noir book. It was hopeless and yet it gave a glimmer of hope to people.
After reading it, my only disappointment is the realization that finding another book this powerful and wistful and jarring will be a long search.
Alain Matalon
You may try Alfred Doblin's Berlin Alexanderplatz, if you haven't done so.
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I totally agree, I came across this book in a charity shop for 50p, the best 50p I've spent in ages! I was hooked from page one. I did a little research about Hans Fallada and apparently he based the story on true events which I found even more thought provoking.
Certainly in my top ten books.
Certainly in my top ten books.
I wasn't overwhelmed with the writing however the concept was riviting. The fact that it was based on real life events was what kept me reading. Powerful and sad at the same time.
A really well told story (although I agree with Randa that writing was not always great) - had me gripped from the start. The sense of doom, desperation and oppression and the frequent, random and needless sadism comes through on every page.
When we discussed the other night we talked about what makes people (the gestapo / SS in this case) behave in such ways - would they have been "normal" people in different circumstances? How would we behave? Or, from the other angle, would we have been brave enough to do something as simple as distribute a postcard?
When we discussed the other night we talked about what makes people (the gestapo / SS in this case) behave in such ways - would they have been "normal" people in different circumstances? How would we behave? Or, from the other angle, would we have been brave enough to do something as simple as distribute a postcard?
loved the book. Didn't want it to end, even though, the ending was quite predictable. It was an excellent protayal of life in Nazi Berlin, and how frightened people were.
I loved the book so much...when reading it, it was actually like living in it. I could feel Otto's heart beating whenever he was leaving a note in the staircases...it was so vivid,so descriptive that i had the same feelings the characters had .It takes you back to Berlin of that time.Even though it's been a while since i read it i remember every single scene of the plot.
Every Man Dies Alone The writing often seems clumsy but this is somehow consistent with the main character, Otto but the book is utterly gripping and the recreates the sense of claustrophobia and sheer terror. A similar story but from an entirely different social perspective is My Father's Country; a Story of German Family by Wibke Bruns. For those interested in german history James Lasdun's 'Seven Lies' is a brilliant evocation of East Berlin a generation later.
Yes, as others have said, this book has stayed with me ever since I read it. If anyone is looking for a first-hand account of what life in Germany was like during WWII, this is a powerful, true and heart-breaking story. One of the best - if not the best - book I have ever read. Very absorbing and easy to read. And very personal. Every time Otto placed a card somewhere, I felt like looking over my own shoulder to make sure I was alone. It took a chapter or two to get used to the writing style, but after that I thought it was perfectly suited to the story.
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