The Berlin Stories

In anticipation of traveling to Germany in a couple months, I was on a quest to read some books that took place there, and The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood popped up as having been rated by Time Magazine as among the top 100 books of the 20^th century. The book is actually two novellas, Mr. Norris Changes Trains and Goodbye to Berlin. The books are given credit for the subsequent stage and film versions known as Cabaret. Both books were written in 1945, the first taking place in 1930 and the second in 1933. Of course, that was the era when Hitler was just coming to power.

Isherwood based the stories on his life in Berlin, having taken extensive notes while living there in the 1930s, then compiling them into these books after WWII. In Berlin, life among the moneyed class was extravagant and shallow. While Mr. Norris was a clever and interesting character, he was more of sensational and curious personality than anything else. Given the sensational aspects of the book and plot, I thought this book might be an example of early gay literature. However, I found the whole thing to be rather dated and stale considering more current literature. The story is interesting from a historical angle, especially the struggle between the forces of Hitler and the communists which were competing with each other for the sympathies of the voting public, although that was not a major plot in this story.

Goodbye to Berlin was mostly a study of a series of characters, none of which I found particularly compelling. Best known from Cabaret was Sally Bowles, the character played by Liza Minelli. Shallow, sensational, sexy, bold. I was left without any appreciation for the story itself, and I abandoned the book at that point. Perhaps the novellas should be seen in a historical context, but I can’t recommend these works for casual and enjoyable reading.