Product Description

Alfred D?blin (1878-1957) studied medicine in Berlin and specialized in the treatment of nervous diseases. Along with his experiences as a psychiatrist in the workers' quarter of Berlin, his writing was inspired by the work of Holderlin, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche and was first published in the literary magazine, Der Sturm. Associated with the Expressionist literary movement in Germany, he is now recognized as on of the most important modern European novelists. Berlin Alexanderplatz is one of the masterpieces of modern European literature and the first German novel to adopt the technique of James Joyce. It tells the story of Franz Biberkopf, who, on being released from prison, is confronted with the poverty, unemployment, crime and burgeoning Nazism of 1920s Germany. As Franz struggles to survive in this world, fate teases him with a little pleasure before cruelly turning on him.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #112041 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Synopsis
Tells the story of Franz Biberkopt, who, on being released from prison is confronted with the proverty, unemployment, crime and burgeoning Nazism of 1920s Germany. As Franz struggles to survive in this world, fate teases him with a little pleasure before cruelly turning on him.

From the Author
Alfred Döblin (1878-1957) studied medicine in Berlin and specialized in the treatment of nervous diseases. Along with his experiences as a psychiatrist in the workers' quarter of Berlin, his writing was inspired by the work of Holderlin, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche and was first published in the literary magazine Der Sturm. Associated with the Expressionist literary movement in Germany, he is now recognized as on of the most important modern European novelists.

From the Back Cover
Berlin in the 1920s. Franz Biberkopf has just been released from prison after serving four years for violence that resulted in the death of a girlfriend. He returns to his old neighborhood--Alexanderplatz--vowing to live a decent life. What he finds are unemployment lines, gangsters, prostitutes, petty thieves, and neophyte Nazis. In this sordid world there are new women--devoted Eva, vulnerable young Mieze--and the dangerous, near psychotic Reinhold, who befriends him. As Franz struggles to survive, fate teases him with a little luck, a little pleasure, then cruelly turns on him.

Berlin Alexanderplatz is one of the masterpieces of European literature. The first German novel to adopt the technique of James Joyce, it excited and overwhelmed critics and readers everywhere as it was translated into other languages. One of its greatest admirers was a brilliant young German director. Rainer Fassbinder saw in the novel "a huge part of myself . . . decisive into determining the course of my life." One of Fassbinder's last projects was an impressive fifteen-hour film version of Berlin Alexanderplatz. Some of the stills from that epic adaptation -- remarkably faithful to the Doblin novel -- are included here.

Customer Reviews

Down and out in Berlin!
For me this was a challenging read that demanded a lot of concentration. I can't compare the quality of the translation (I think this is the only English version readily available) but I felt some of the dialogue in this edition evoked, for instance, 1920s Chicago gangster speak rather than conveying the colloquial vagaries of sections of the Berlin criminal underclass. Perhaps the translator should have been a bit more neutral and left the dialect to the reader's imagination? The story itself is relatively formulaic involving the hero's (Franz Biberkopf) attempt to lead a straight life but finding himself unable to escape the clutches of a criminal past and present which leads towards a spiral of despair.

The pleasure the narrative offers is to be found in the multiple voices that progress the story. Döblin often places Franz's inner turmoil at the centre of the action: a fragmentary voice bound up in remorse, contradiction, aggression and indecision. Franz appears to be easily manipulated by those around him and his incessant naivety creates a vulnerability that is frequently exploited. Indeed Franz's self damning ego and growing paranoia, often fuelled by excessive alcohol consumption, convey a psychological anarchy reminiscent of the schizophrenic mind. Interestingly Döblin was a psychiatrist who worked with the disadvantaged and poorer members of late Weimar Republic Berlin. To some extent Franz's desire to improve his lot can be seen as a metaphor for the rising aspirations of a post-war German population plagued by rampant inflation and political turmoil. Berlin is depicted as a thriving metropolis constantly under the `steam hammer' of urban renewal and consumerism (fur coats are all the rage!). Döblin constantly provides the reader with detail concerning, for example, tram destinations, weather reports, the flight of the Graf Zeppelin and the working life of a massive abattoir. Death is a constant companion in this story, be it the number of pigs slaughtered in one day, an annual breakdown of human fatalities from disease, paraphrased extracts from Revelations and other parts of the Bible, war or murder.

There are moments of tenderness but these are contaminated by the inescapable consequences of prostitution, deceit and betrayal. Although Franz is fortunate to have some loyal friends and lovers, his inability to distinguish friend from foe, forces him into catastrophic situations. Franz is the archetypal urban petty criminal, dispossessed, uneducated, ignorant and emotionally underdeveloped. I see him as a victim of his social status, unable to secure a meaningful existence because of his lack of self-control, the absence of personal improvement and the ever-present contagion of criminality. Ultimately Franz's fate appears to be preordained: an existential struggle between the forces of self-hatred and delusion and the overwhelming power of peer pressure and exploitation. Overall a fascinating read that benefits from the occasional reference to a map of Berlin.

Franz Bieberkopf and 1920s Berlin
Doblin was a doctor working in poor areas of Berlin in the aftermath of the First World War,and he gathered his material for this novel at the time.One of the first German writers to be influenced by modernists like Joyce,the book is written in a mixture of styles,and tells the story of Franz Bieberkopf and an assortment of lowlife and oddballs in the eastern part of Berlin.
A very original novel-how many other books have you read where the hero is a one-armed pimp?If you can,check out Fassbinder's marathon(15 hour plus)TV adaptation of this novel

Alexanderplatz
An awful translation of waht I'm sure is an excellent book. Infact in parts barely readable, I only got half way through before giving up.