About this title: The two novels in this volume, THE LAST OF MR. NORRIS and GOODBYE TO BERLIN, were first published in 1935 and 1938, and represent Isherwood's best-known, most widely praised works of fiction. They depict such characters as Mr. Norris, the improbable old debauchee mysteriously caught in the struggle between the Nazis and the Communists; plump Fräulein Schroesler, who thinks an operation to reduce the scale of her Büste might relieve her heart palpitations; the Landauers, a distinguished and doomed Jewish family; and Sally Bowles, the inspiration for American stage and screen portrayals by ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: First Thus
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation
Date Published: 1963
Description: Very Good. No Jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. '63 first New Directions printing. 207 pages. Softcover. New Directions Publishing Corporation (NDP134). 1963 stated first New Directions paperback edition. Book: Very good. Clean and complete. Unmarked. Mild edge and surface wear. A little browned at outer page tips. Dust Jacket: None. 10d. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: New Directions
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780811218047ISBN:081121804X
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: New Directions
Date Published: 2008-10-29
ISBN-13:9780811218047ISBN:081121804X
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780811218047. read more
Edition: 1st ed. thus, with a new nine-page preface, "About This Book, "
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: A New Directions Book, (New York)
Date Published: 1954
Description: A fine copy in near fine dust jacket; jacket is rubbed on spine, else quite fresh and bright.. ISHERWOOD, Christopher. THE BERLIN STORIES. The Last of Mr. Norris. Goodbye to Berlin. With a New Preface by the Author. Octavo, grey cloth, pp. xiii, 207. An elusive title with Isherwood's new nine-page preface, issued in 1954. read more
Edition: Reissue
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: NEW DIRECTIONS
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780811218047ISBN:081121804X
Description: A classic of 20th-century fiction, "Berlin Stories" inspired the Broadway musical and Oscar-winning film "Cabaret. " This newly released paperback edition features an Introduction by the acclaimed novelist Maupin. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: New Directions, NY
Date Published: 1954
Description: Reprint. Very good in wrappers. Paperback, reprint. Book has minor wear of spine ends and cover edges, light fading and soiling covers, light soiling foredges. Clean text. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: New Directions Paperbook
Date Published: 1954
Description: Good. Book Book pages are tight, spine has one light crease, edges of cover show minor wear, text is unmarked, book pages edge show some markings. read more
Edition: 2nd Printing
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Book-of-the-Month Club, New York, New York
Date Published: 1967
Description: Very Good in Good + jacket. Very good hardcover in good + dustjacket from an amazing book but by a history collector. May be some rubbing, bumping and chipping to edges, corners and spine of dustjacket but overall the condition of these books is awesome. Nice tight copy. All hardcovers are shipped in protective Demco mylar. read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: A New Directions Paperbook
Date Published: 1960
Description: Fair in n/a jacket. Softcover. Sound & good copy, light to moderate rubbing/edgewear to wraps, mild creasing, tape to lower spine, prev. owner's name within. read more
"This book is composed of 2 previously separately published stories: THE LAST OF MR. NORRIS which the author Christopher Isherwood, dedicated to his long-time friend W. H. Auden and GOODBYE TO BERLIN which was the basis of the play I AM A CAMERA and CABARET starring Liza Minnelli. I know some lines in that song but I had no chance of seeing neither the movie nor the play.
I bought this book at Fully Booked Greenhills at its full price (less than US$20) at postponed reading it for sometime. When Ondoy struck, it also got wet from rain coming from window. So, when the typhoon left, I started reading this right away. The reason I bought this book is that it never showed up in any Booksale outlets have been visiting since the start of the year. Also this is in the 501 MUST READ BOOKS and among the TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST AMERICAN NOVELS OF THE 20TH CENTURY.
It was a good buy. I made the right decision of buying and reading this book. The fact that this book was written by CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD, who they say is perhaps the first major openly gay writer to be read extensively by a wider audience, gives my reading a different flavor. At first, I was expecting this to be similar to the gay memoir book I read last month, AMERICA'S BOY by Wade Rouse with Holocaust as a background for a dramatic impact. However, the gayness of the stories were limited into those characters being described as in a way that a gay would probably describe a man: detailed and with emphasis on the masculinity, etc. Also, the holocaust or the rise of Herr Hitler only came to the last 40 pages of the book specifically in the GOODBYE TO BERLIN. In other words, how ISHERWOOD presented the stories was totally different that what I would say most readers would expect. In short, this is not formulaic.
I am rating this with only 4 stars though because I was not amazed by the first story, THE LAST OF MR. NORRIS. The main protagonist, Mr. Norris was a stupid pathetic man. I could not understand how would he allow his secretary Schmidt harass him to no end. Can he just kill him? However, the second story, GOODBYE TO BERLIN was just brilliant! The character of Sally Bowles was like a clown-prostitute and her being naive and gullible is endearing (unlike the character of Mr. Norris in the first story). However, the character that I really enjoyed was Natasha especially in the scene where Christopher and Nastasha were dining in Natasha's home together with her family. I laughed and laughed at their banters particularly on the number of books that Christopher sold.
The last few pages of the second story were haunting as it describes Berlin during the rise of Adolf Hitler. It narrates what happened to the main main male characters, i.e., a Jew like Bernhard, a Nazi like Rudi, and himself Christopher, a communist. Each of those characters seems to dramatize to the reader how was Berlin during the rise of Adolf Hitler. With a number of Holocaust books I have read so far, this one gave me an idea what happened before Hitler killed the Jews. It added a star to my rating.
I have another book by Christopher Isherwood in my MARKED TO READ folder: his autobiography LIONS AND SHADOWS and I will read it when I need to have a gay perspective in my wonderful world of books."
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