The Berlin Stories in Queereaders

Feb 04, 2023 Aaron Hamburger rated it it was amazing

One of the great books of the 20th century, written in stunning detail, with a voice that cuts right through the brain like ice. The characters are indelible and the way they come in and out of the stories is brilliantly orchestrated. So too is the gradual creep of fascism. By the end, you feel the weight of the Nazi takeover of Germany precisely because of the contrast with the light tone of the beginning of the book.

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Sep 04, 2011 Chris added it

Shelves: short-stories, british

I took this to Berlin with very high hopes--perhaps too high--for a wonderfully romantic portrait of ex-pat life in the 20th-centruy heyday of Berlin that would enlighten and enrich my experience. Well, I was let down. Isherwood seems to think that the wild world of Berlin alone can carry a story (which, admittedly, is what I was thinking too when I picked it up), but it's not so. Far too realist for my tastes. I would've been better off reading Isherwood's diaries, or even just watching Cabaret ...more

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Aug 04, 2011 Lord Beardsley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read2011

The first time I read this was about ten (!!!) years ago, when I was in my late-teens/early 20s. I had just seen 'Cabaret' for the first time, pined after living a life as divinely decadent as Fraulein Sally Bowles, and wanted to further revel in it. Even though I considered myself well-versed in double entendres involving gay shennanigans, I think I missed half the meaning of most of this book.

Re-reading this again with a queer sub-text as well as a much more informed background knowledge of Is ...more

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