Description
Book SynopsisBerlin Tales is a collection of seventeen translated stories associated with Berlin. The book provides a unique insight into the mind of this fascinating city through the eyes of its story-tellers. Nearly twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the stories collected here reflect on the city''s fascinating recent history, setting out with the early twentieth-century Berlin of Siegfried Kracauer and Alfred Döblin and culminating in an excellent selection of stories from the best of the new voices in the current boom in German fiction. They are chosen for their conscious exploration of the city''s image, meaning, and attraction to immigrants and tourists as well as Berliners from both sides of the Wall. These stories also depict Berlin''s distinct districts, not just the differences between East and West but also iconic sites such as Alexanderplatz, individual neighbourhoods (Jewish Mitte, Turkish Kreuzberg) and individual streets. There is an introduction and notes to accompany the stories and a selection of Further Reading. Each story is illustrated with a striking photograph and there is a map of Berlin and its transport system (a frequent motif). There is an introduction and notes to accompany the stories and a selection of Further Reading. The book will appeal to people who love travelling or are armchair travellers, as much as to those who love Berlin.
Trade ReviewThese seventeen stories traverse the effervescent city of Berlin, both past and present, in such a beguiling way - that one's compelled to not only read more, but investigate the city for real. * David Marx, David Marx: Book Reviews *
Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. 'Aus dem Fenster gesehen' (Seen From the Window) ; 2. 'Ostlich um den Alexanderplatz' (East of Alexanderplatz) ; 3. excerpt from 'Spazieren in Berlin' (A Flaneur in Berlin) ; 4. 'Berlin, November 1947' ; 5. 'Berliner Stadtbahn' (Berlin S-Bahn) ; 6. 'Alltagliche Geschichte einer Berliner Strasse' (Everyday Story of a Berlin Street) ; 7. 'Berlin, Grosse Hamburger' (Grosse Hamburger Street) ; 8. 'Geburtsort Berlin' (Place of Birth: Berlin) ; 9. 'Mein Berlin' (My Berlin) ; 10. 'Sommerzeit' (Summertime) ; 11. 'Besetzer' (Squatters) ; 12. 'Rest Esplanade' (The Remains of the Hotel Esplanade) ; 13. 'Das Herz der Republik' (The Heart of the Republic) ; 14. 'Berlin ist mein Paris' (Berlin is my Paris) ; 15. 'fraktionen' (factions) ; 16. 'Stadtfuhrer Berlin' (Berlin Guide) ; 17. 'Gina Regina'
