Entertaining, subtle, profound
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First, the edition I have read is a Vintage Classics paperback dated 1999, not a talking book. Sally Bowles is not a character in this novel.
The book is set in pre-war Germany. The narrator, an Englishman, encounters the eponymous Mr Norris on a train and befriends him. What makes this novel so good is that Isherwood boldly takes a very important political theme, possibly the most important historical theme of the last century, but does not allow it to dominate the novel to the exclusion of the depiction of character. Quite the reverse, the characters, and especially Mr Norris, are exceptionally well realised. Perhaps one might make an exception of the narrator. Reference to this work in the critical literature indicate that Isherwood himself acknowledged that this was a problem. Nevertheless, this book is well worth reading. Its funny moments add to rather than detract from the underlying profound theme, and the style is excellent.
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A Berlin Cabaret
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Remembered, if at all, as the origin of the musical Cabaret; this book stays in my memory, not because of Mr Norris (he would be glad to hear), but because it brings to life the Berlin of the 1930's and it's peculiar innocence before the fall into Nazism. One gradually realises the characters innocence is presented by Mr Isherwood as a cause of the fall rather than the decadance we are usually enjoined to condemn. Not having been there at the time one cannot easily accept or reject such a conclusion, but it does give pause for thought.
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A front row seat at Pre-Nazi Germany`s decline
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As pre-Hitler German society heads towards disintergration through decadence and depraved indifference,the "Elite incrowd" shamlesslly ride on a merry-go-round of self-destrution. This book is a rare glimpse from behind the mirror at a nation wallowing in self-depravity and hedonistic behaviour only comparable to the "Fall of the Roman Empire". The main charactor Sally Bowles flits through life as an etheral butterfly who`s only problems in life are worring about the next party,-the next lover,-the next "goodtimes",whilst her rather nieve friend and confident Norris is more an "observer of life" than a "participant". In Isherwood`s subsequent novel "Goodby to Berlin" Sally Bowles was still a "flighty" character with self- serving "hustler" traits, whilst in "Mr Norris changes trains" one feels she has reached new depths of self-indulgence that can only lead to a state of life that calls for another way of living or ultimatly another way of dying! Judge for yourself,-but remember this was a society where at the end of the day relationships are as important as a suitcase full of Deutch marks-and tommorw may never come.
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A Splendid Reading of a Unique Novel.
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On a very few occasions in one's life a personality is encountered who is by all rational measures is an out and out scoundrel, amoral, treacherous, mendacious, cowardly and - totally irresistible. It is a mystery why such persons should earn tolerance, and even regard, and why they should live on in one's memory and affection long after many more worthy characters one has known have faded into obscurity. It is Christopher Isherwood's genius, in this, his probably best novel, to describe such a character in such convincing detail that he lives on, years after first reading, as a personality more real than many actual persons of one's acquaintance. Little good can be said about Arthur Norris - other than that he is an engaging companion - and the reader is never in any doubt about his total unreliability, but it is impossible not to like him as he weaves his pathetically futile schemes of cunning and treachery against the backdrop of the last days of Weimar Germany. With a minimum of detail, but with that minimum telling, Isherwood fixes the time and locale with sharp accuracy and brings it further to life with a bizarre but credible cast of supporting characters. The balance between comedy and tragedy, farce and outright horror, is splendidly managed. This talking book version is all but perfect. Alan Cumming is an ideal reader and adopts a wide range of voices and accents throughout. His use of pauses and of changes of tone and emphasis is masterly. Arthur Norris's fruity tone are horribly enjoyable while the dreadful Kuno (to hear him ask if the narrator has read "Vinnie the Pooh" is enough to make the flesh crawl) becomes an almost palpable presence. In summary - one of the best Talking Books I've encountered. It's the only one you'll need on a long car journey since you'll listen to it over and over.
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