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'You don't want to mind about any of this, ' said the driver, waving a hand at the grey ruins and the greyer dust. 'In a few days you'll be so used to it that you'll like them. Berlin's a grand place! I'd rather be here than anywhere else in the world, and that's a fact.' 'No more perceptive portrait of Germany in defeat has been etched in word than Frances Faviell's first book, The Dancing Bear, which made so powerful an impact upon me that I read it in a single sitting.' Guy Ramsey, Daily Telegraph 'Berlin during the decisive years from 1946 to 1949. ... The prostitution which paid so handsomely; the black market which brought in rich rewards, although it meant that the Berliners had to part with treasured possessions; the night clubs which catered for still baser tastes; the impoverished intellectuals and the starving professors and the poor who had only their wits with which to eke out a bare sustenance--all this and much else the author describes with insight, incisiveness, and realism.' Times Literary Supplement 'There is great charity in this book; there is the sharp, limpid eye of the artist; there is sound realism; and there is an unswerving, passionate desire to tell the truth." John Connell, Evening News 'They were hard and terrible times, and brilliantly does Frances Faviell describe them for us. We meet the Altmann family and follow their joys and troubles. ... The book is a brilliant pen-picture of the post-war years. We have British, French, American and Russian characters, but the background is always Berlin, and the strange tunes to which its bear danced.' Liverpool Daily Post This new edition includes an afterword by Frances Faviell's son, John Parker, and additional supplementary material.… (meer)
This is a wonderfully touching portrait of Berlin, as seen through the lives of members of the Altmann family and those close to them, in the immediate post-war years from 1947 to 1953. The author was herself a trained artist and this is noticeable in the almost lyrical quality of some of her prose. More than that, though, she uses words as an artist would use brushes, from gentle, soft descriptions of countryside to sharp, harsh delineations of traits in the characters she portrays. This book delights on many levels, just as a good painting does. An afterword by the author's son, together with illustrations by the author herself, complete a beautiful composition. An exceptionally good read. Francis Faviell goes straight on to my shortlist of favourite authors. ( )
A shockingly immediate and intimate view of devastated Berlin and the starving Berliners in the chaotic aftermath of WW2. The author was the wife of a British officer sent there as part of the occupying forces (Britain, France, USA and Soviet Union) sent to restore order. The power of her narrative lies in her ability to avoid the stereotypical thinking and the hatreds resulting from years of war, and to feel empathy for the shattered people, many of whom she gets to know well and helps as best she can. She is observant and insightful in describing the various ways that people responded to the defeat and tried to survive terrible privation, abuse and the complete overturn of their worldview. She observes as the allies in Berlin start to fall out, describing the birth of what became known as the Cold War and the Berlin airlift. This book was published soon after the events it describes, and takes you right back there. ( )
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis.Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
"Poor bear," the said: "he must dance to every tune."
Opdracht
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis.Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
FOR MY HUSBAND and for all my friends in Berlin especially Lotte and Dr Annemarie Nitze
Eerste woorden
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis.Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
It was at the roundabout juncture of Rechsstrasse and Kaiserdamm that I first saw Frau Altman.
Citaten
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis.Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
I was already learning to my surprise that there had apparently been very few Nazis anywhere. They just did not exist. If it was pointed out to the Germans that the Allies had a complete list of the party members in their possession, they would shrug their shoulders and say glibly that of course they had to belong, but, of course, yes, that just didn’t mean a thing.
“You don’t want to mind about any of this,” he said, waving a hand at the grey ruins and the greyer dust. “In a few days you’ll be so used to it that you’ll like them. Berlin’s a grand place! I’d rather be here than anywhere else in the world, and that’s a fact.”
Laatste woorden
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis.Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
We stood there together for a long time looking at all the little lights.
'You don't want to mind about any of this, ' said the driver, waving a hand at the grey ruins and the greyer dust. 'In a few days you'll be so used to it that you'll like them. Berlin's a grand place! I'd rather be here than anywhere else in the world, and that's a fact.' 'No more perceptive portrait of Germany in defeat has been etched in word than Frances Faviell's first book, The Dancing Bear, which made so powerful an impact upon me that I read it in a single sitting.' Guy Ramsey, Daily Telegraph 'Berlin during the decisive years from 1946 to 1949. ... The prostitution which paid so handsomely; the black market which brought in rich rewards, although it meant that the Berliners had to part with treasured possessions; the night clubs which catered for still baser tastes; the impoverished intellectuals and the starving professors and the poor who had only their wits with which to eke out a bare sustenance--all this and much else the author describes with insight, incisiveness, and realism.' Times Literary Supplement 'There is great charity in this book; there is the sharp, limpid eye of the artist; there is sound realism; and there is an unswerving, passionate desire to tell the truth." John Connell, Evening News 'They were hard and terrible times, and brilliantly does Frances Faviell describe them for us. We meet the Altmann family and follow their joys and troubles. ... The book is a brilliant pen-picture of the post-war years. We have British, French, American and Russian characters, but the background is always Berlin, and the strange tunes to which its bear danced.' Liverpool Daily Post This new edition includes an afterword by Frances Faviell's son, John Parker, and additional supplementary material.
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(4.5)
5
The author was herself a trained artist and this is noticeable in the almost lyrical quality of some of her prose. More than that, though, she uses words as an artist would use brushes, from gentle, soft descriptions of countryside to sharp, harsh delineations of traits in the characters she portrays.
This book delights on many levels, just as a good painting does. An afterword by the author's son, together with illustrations by the author herself, complete a beautiful composition.
An exceptionally good read. Francis Faviell goes straight on to my shortlist of favourite authors. (