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Set in Germany in the early days of the Weimar Republic, this novel explores the unrest among the country's intellectual youth of the day. Andreas, a young painter, frequents decadent Berlin, a city full of artists, questionable nightclubs, and debauchery. Offering readers a historic tour of the streets of Berlin, this novel bares witness to German society during this historically significant era. Perceived as scandalous when it was first published in 1926, when Klaus Mann was only 19 years old, this novel remains as shocking and enlightening in modern times. Ambientada en Alemania durante el comienzo de la República de Weimar, esta novela explora el malestar de la juventud intelectual del país de la época. Andreas, un joven pintor, frecuenta el Berlín decadente, una ciudad repleta de artistas, discotecas equívocas y desenfrenos. Ofreciéndole al lector un recorrido histórico por las calles de Berlín, esta novela presenta una visión de la sociedad alemana durante esta época tan históricamente significativa. Percibida como escandalosa cuando fue publicada por primera vez en 1926, cuando Klaus Mann tenía tan sólo 19 años, esta novela continúa siendo tan chocante y esclarecedora hoy en día.… (meer)
Klaus Mann's first novel, published when he was nineteen. His hero, Andreas, is a clever young man who leaves his provincial middle-class-intellectual father and his fiancée, a childhood friend and the daughter of a well-known artist herself, to pursue a career as a cabaret performer and look for beautiful young men in the night-clubs of Berlin. But, obviously, we needn't assume that there's anything remotely autobiographical going on here...
The story is fascinating for its very vivid first-hand descriptions of gay life in twenties Berlin, Hamburg and Paris, full of cabaret scenes, rent-boys, drag-queens, and even a sort of precursor of Anna Madrigal's boarding house with a cast of colourful eccentrics of all orientations. Plus a couple of bonus Zola set-pieces in the final chapters, an artists' ball and a dawn scene at Les Halles. Whilst there's no explicit description of sex-acts — presumably that would have been going too far even for Weimar censors — the encoding is so transparent that we can't really claim he's keeping anything from us. Not like Isherwood with his constant glances over the shoulder to respectability.
On the other hand, it's a bit harder to cope with the story of Andreas's psychological development, involving Walt Whitman singing the body electric whilst Andreas has peculiar dreams about rosary beads, angels and the Virgin Mary. This is all very first-novelish. There are clearly good ideas behind it: Mann seems to be talking about the collision between the abstract ideals of romantic love Andreas has grown up with and the breathtaking physicality of his desire for the lovely Niels. But the presentation of this somehow gets side-tracked into long-winded sentimentality. You can always skim lightly over the first few chapters and the last. There aren't so many 1920s gay novels that you can afford to toss one aside. ( )
Du kannst nicht sein, Du kannst Dich nur verschwenden, Kannst bleiben nicht, die Erde wandert aller Enden, Du kannst nicht sammeln, jedes Gold wird Blei, Und nichts wissen, denn es wird schon Trug - Du kannst nur lieben. Lieben ist genug.
Ernst Bertram
Einder von uns muß das Lied singen, unserLied. Wie wird es sein?
Anja und Esther
Opdracht
Opgedragen aan Anna Pamela Wedekind
Eerste woorden
Ik zie een hotelkamer in een willekeurig vreemd zuidelijk stadje en in die hotelkamer zit een jongeman en schrijft een brief - ik zeg echter nog niet aan wie.
Citaten
Laatste woorden
Met verwaaid haar en gevouwen handen raasde zijn gestalte aan de mensen voorbij; zij keken hem lachend na, hij was een in gebed verzonken ijlbode.
Set in Germany in the early days of the Weimar Republic, this novel explores the unrest among the country's intellectual youth of the day. Andreas, a young painter, frequents decadent Berlin, a city full of artists, questionable nightclubs, and debauchery. Offering readers a historic tour of the streets of Berlin, this novel bares witness to German society during this historically significant era. Perceived as scandalous when it was first published in 1926, when Klaus Mann was only 19 years old, this novel remains as shocking and enlightening in modern times. Ambientada en Alemania durante el comienzo de la República de Weimar, esta novela explora el malestar de la juventud intelectual del país de la época. Andreas, un joven pintor, frecuenta el Berlín decadente, una ciudad repleta de artistas, discotecas equívocas y desenfrenos. Ofreciéndole al lector un recorrido histórico por las calles de Berlín, esta novela presenta una visión de la sociedad alemana durante esta época tan históricamente significativa. Percibida como escandalosa cuando fue publicada por primera vez en 1926, cuando Klaus Mann tenía tan sólo 19 años, esta novela continúa siendo tan chocante y esclarecedora hoy en día.
The story is fascinating for its very vivid first-hand descriptions of gay life in twenties Berlin, Hamburg and Paris, full of cabaret scenes, rent-boys, drag-queens, and even a sort of precursor of Anna Madrigal's boarding house with a cast of colourful eccentrics of all orientations. Plus a couple of bonus Zola set-pieces in the final chapters, an artists' ball and a dawn scene at Les Halles. Whilst there's no explicit description of sex-acts — presumably that would have been going too far even for Weimar censors — the encoding is so transparent that we can't really claim he's keeping anything from us. Not like Isherwood with his constant glances over the shoulder to respectability.
On the other hand, it's a bit harder to cope with the story of Andreas's psychological development, involving Walt Whitman singing the body electric whilst Andreas has peculiar dreams about rosary beads, angels and the Virgin Mary. This is all very first-novelish. There are clearly good ideas behind it: Mann seems to be talking about the collision between the abstract ideals of romantic love Andreas has grown up with and the breathtaking physicality of his desire for the lovely Niels. But the presentation of this somehow gets side-tracked into long-winded sentimentality. You can always skim lightly over the first few chapters and the last. There aren't so many 1920s gay novels that you can afford to toss one aside. ( )