Books we like ... and books we're not too fussed about
Hans Fallada (translated by Michael Hofmann)
Penguin 2009
Hans Fallada’s account of an ordinary Berlin couple who are prompted by the death of their son to resist the Nazi regime by distributing postcard messages of defiance is a surprise bestseller in Britain, a country not known for its enthusiasm for works in translation. I can understand the reasons why: it’s a gripping account of life in wartime Germany which rings very true. The latter is unsurprising as Fallada certainly knew what he was writing about. Despite being offered the chance to leave for England, he spent the whole of the war in his home country, and for part of it he was incarcerated. He also understood the ambiguities of survival under the Nazis; whilst never fully co-operating, he made significant concessions, including adding extra chapters to one novel extolling service in the German army. In fact it’s tempting to see Alone in Berlin, which portrays ordinary working people resisting in a way which they know will lead only to torture and death, as an attempt to exorcise his own sense of guilt. He reputedly wrote it in just 24 days – and this is a generally tightly structured 600-page novel. It is a compelling but grim read; the grimness comes not just from the detailed and harrowing accounts of violence, but also from the clear futility of the writing campaign. This is based on a true story, and in both the fiction and in real life, the overwhelming majority of cards were simply handed to the Gestapo. In the end though, the message is a positive one, I think: of renewal, and of the dignity of those who resisted compared to those who sought only their own advantage.
At times the fact that it was written in such a short period of time shows: some plots are lost, apparently forgotten, and some editing could have made it shorter – and better. However, this was not to be, as by the time it was published (in 1947), a lifetime of alcoholism and drug addiction, as well as extended stays in both prisons and asylums, had caught up with Fallada.
He is well served by his translator most of the time, although sometimes the use of modern idiom and, in particular, swear words that simply wouldn’t have been printed all that time ago, does jar a little. Overall, however, this is a powerful and important novel, the grim subject matter of which is well-complemented by a direct, realistic style reminiscent of Greene, Hamilton, and Orwell.
13 July 2010
http://hansfallada.com/
See also: Little Man, What Now? The Drinker
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