The Berlin Stories (The Last of Mr. Norris/Goodbye to Berlin)
The next book on my list of books to read was Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood. I was able to find it on sale at Audible for around $5 so I thought I'd get it and listen to it in my car on the way to and from work. The audio file, titled The Berlin Stories, contained both Goodbye to Berlin and The Last of Mr. Norris which is a novella that takes place prior to the events in Goodbye to Berlin. Audible is a great website to find and download audio books to listen to. I have a 45 minute commute to work so I find I prefer to listen to books instead of music because it helps to pass the time.
I am glad that the book did not cost me very much because I didn't really enjoy it. If I had to pick one story over the other, I’d say I liked The Last of Mr. Norris better because it had more of a plot. There wasn’t a whole lot going on in the second story. I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters, they were sort of superficial and self-absorbed. The main character is living in a time where the Nazis are starting to rise into power and Jewish business owners in Berlin are being discriminated against and all he cares about is going to parties and trying to get people to like him while pretending he doesn’t care if people like him. I was hoping for something with a bit more substance, something that gave an idea of what it was like to be alive in a time of such upheaval. Instead this novel mostly consists of shallow, emotionally detached characters who don’t seem to care very much about what’s going on around them. You never get a real sense of how they feel about anything other than gossip and themselves. I was disappointed, and wouldn’t recommend reading this. I have read that this is one of the author’s earlier works though, I may give one of his later books a try because there is good writing here, even though the characters and plot line are a bit under developed.
I am glad that the book did not cost me very much because I didn't really enjoy it. If I had to pick one story over the other, I’d say I liked The Last of Mr. Norris better because it had more of a plot. There wasn’t a whole lot going on in the second story. I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters, they were sort of superficial and self-absorbed. The main character is living in a time where the Nazis are starting to rise into power and Jewish business owners in Berlin are being discriminated against and all he cares about is going to parties and trying to get people to like him while pretending he doesn’t care if people like him. I was hoping for something with a bit more substance, something that gave an idea of what it was like to be alive in a time of such upheaval. Instead this novel mostly consists of shallow, emotionally detached characters who don’t seem to care very much about what’s going on around them. You never get a real sense of how they feel about anything other than gossip and themselves. I was disappointed, and wouldn’t recommend reading this. I have read that this is one of the author’s earlier works though, I may give one of his later books a try because there is good writing here, even though the characters and plot line are a bit under developed.
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