''Berlin Alexanderplatz'' () is a 1929 novel by

Alfred Döblin Bruno Alfred Döblin (; 10 August 1878 – 26 June 1957) was a German novelist, essayist, and doctor, best known for his novel '' Berlin Alexanderplatz'' (1929). A prolific writer whose œuvre spans more than half a century and a wide variety of ...

. It is considered one of the most important and innovative works of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

. In a 2002 poll of 100 noted writers, the book was named among the top 100 books of all time.

Summary

The story concerns a murderer, Franz Biberkopf, fresh from prison. When his friend murders the prostitute on whom Biberkopf has been relying as an anchor, he realizes that he will be unable to extricate himself from the underworld into which he has sunk. He must deal with misery, lack of opportunities, crime and the imminent ascendancy of Nazism. During his struggle to survive against all odds, life rewards him with an unsuspected surprise, but his happiness does not last as the story continues.

Focus and narrative technique

The novel is set in the working-class district near

Alexanderplatz (, ''Alexander Square'') is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin. The square is named after the Russian Tsar Alexander I, which also denotes the larger neighbourhood stretching from in the north-ea ...

1920s Berlin The Golden Twenties was a particular vibrant period in the history of Berlin. After the Greater Berlin Act, the city became the third largest municipality in the world and experienced its heyday as a major world city. It was known for its leade ...

. Although its narrative style is sometimes compared to that of

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

's, critics such as

Walter Benjamin Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin ( ; ; 15 July 1892 – 26 September 1940) was a German-Jewish philosopher, cultural critic, media theorist, and essayist. An eclectic thinker who combined elements of German idealism, Jewish mysticism, Western M ...

have drawn a distinction between ''

Ulysses Ulysses is the Latin name for Odysseus, a legendary Greek hero recognized for his intelligence and cunning. He is famous for his long, adventurous journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, as narrated in Homer's Odyssey. Ulysses may also refer ...

''’

interior monologue In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. It is usually in the form of an interior monologue which i ...

and ''Berlin Alexanderplatzs use of montage.

Oliver Kamm Oliver Kamm (born 1963) is a British journalist and writer who was a leader writer and columnist for ''The Times''. Early life and career Kamm is the son of translator Anthea Bell and publisher Antony Kamm. Kamm is the grandson of Adrian Be ...

, writing in the London ''

Times Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems. Time or times may also refer to: Temporal measurement * Time in physics, defined by its measurement * Time standard, civil time specificat ...

'', says Döblin's methods are more akin to

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of real ...

in his use of "'' erlebte Rede'' (roughly, experienced speech — a blending of first-person and third-person narrative)". The novel is told from multiple points of view, and uses sound effects, newspaper articles, songs, speeches, and other books to propel the plot.

Translations

The novel was translated into English in 1931 by

Eugene Jolas John George Eugène Jolas (October 26, 1894 – May 26, 1952) was a writer, translator and literary critic. Early life John George Eugène Jolas was born October 26, 1894, in Union Hill, New Jersey (what is today Union City, New Jersey). His p ...

, a friend of James Joyce. The translation was not well received; it particularly was criticised for the way in which it rendered everyday working-class speech. A 2018 English translation by

Michael Hofmann Michael Hofmann (born 25 August 1957) is a German-born poet, translator, and critic. ''The Guardian'' has described him as "arguably the world's most influential translator of German into English". Biography Hofmann was born in Freiburg into ...

, published by ''

New York Review Books New York Review Books (NYRB) is the publishing division of ''The New York Review of Books''. Its imprints are New York Review Books Classics, New York Review Books Collections, The New York Review Children's Collection, New York Review Comics, ...

'', was given a starred review from ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'', which called it "vigorous and fresh" and a "welcome refurbishing of a masterpiece of literary modernism".Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin, Michael Hofmann

According to Oliver Kamm, "Dialogue is the most difficult thing to get right in translation" which Hofmann has rendered "in

cockney dialect Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners with working-class and lower middle class roots. The term ''Cockney'' is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End ...

. It reads fluently, even at the risk of being possibly obscure to a non-British audience".

Film adaptations

The novel has been adapted three times for film. In 1931 '' Berlin-Alexanderplatz'' was directed by Piel Jutzi. Döblin worked on the adaptation, along with

Karlheinz Martin Karlheinz Martin (May 6, 1886 – January 13, 1948) was a German stage and film director, best known for his expressionist productions. After enjoying success with experimental productions in Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg, Martin went to Berlin, ...

and Hans Wilhelm. The film starred

Heinrich George Georg August Friedrich Hermann Schulz (9 October 1893 – 25 September 1946), better known as Heinrich George (), was a German stage and film actor. Early life George was born in Pomerania to August Friedrich Schulz, a former Deck Officer in t ...

Maria Bard Maria Bard (7 July 1900 – 8 April 1944) was a German stage actress, who made a handful of films in the silent era for Rimax, her first husband Wilhelm Graaff's company. By 1930, her marriage with Graaff was over, and she appeared with Werne ...

Margarete Schlegel Margarethe Sylva Elisabeth Wisniewski (né Schlegel, 31 December 1899 – 15 July 1987), known professionally as Margarete Schlegel, was a German theatre and film actress and soprano operetta singer. Early life The sixth of seven children and the ...

Bernhard Minetti Bernhard Theodor Henry Minetti (26 January 1905 – 12 October 1998) was a German actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1931 and 1996 but is mostly known for his distinguished stage career. Selected filmography *'' The Murderer Dimitri Karamaz ...

Gerhard Bienert Gerhard Max Richard Bienert (8 January 1898 – 23 December 1986) was a German stage and film actor. Gerhard Bienert was born in Berlin, Germany and died in the same city in 1986 at age 88. Selected filmography * '' Duke Ferrante's End'' (1922) ...

Albert Florath Albert Peter Adam Florath (7 December 1888, Bielefeld – 11 March 1957, Gaildorf) was a German stage and film actor. Early life and education Born to Joseph Florath, a locksmith, and his wife Matilda, née Burkart, he attended school in Brak ...

and

Paul Westermeier Paul Westermeier (9 July 1892 – 17 October 1972) was a German film actor. Selected filmography * '' Wedding in the Eccentric Club'' (1917) * '' Agnes Arnau and Her Three Suitors'' (1918) * '' About the Son'' (1921) * '' Memoirs of a Film Act ...

. The second adaptation, ''

Berlin Alexanderplatz ''Berlin Alexanderplatz'' () is a 1929 novel by Alfred Döblin. It is considered one of the most important and innovative works of the Weimar culture, Weimar Republic. In a 2002 poll of 100 noted writers, the book was named among the top 100 bo ...

'', was directed by

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker, dramatist and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema moveme ...

. Produced for and shown on German television in 1980 as a 14-part miniseries, it also has been shown theatrically. It runs for 15 hours (NTSC and film releases expand the runtime by a half hour). Upon its release in New York City, ticket holders were required to come to the theatre for three consecutive nights to see the entire film. Both films were released in November 2007 by the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...

in the US in a multi-disc DVD. A Region 2 edition of the Fassbinder version was released in the UK by Second Sight in October that year.

Burhan Qurbani Burhan Qurbani () (born in Erkelenz on 15 November 1980) is a German film director, writer and actor of Afghans in Germany, Afghan origin. His directing, writing, and acting works include ''Shahada (film), Shahada'' (2010), ''20xBrandenburg'' (20 ...

directed the most recent film adaptation, ''

'', which premiered at the

70th Berlin International Film Festival The 70th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 20 February to 1 March 2020. It was the first under the leadership of new Berlin Film Festival board: business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director ...

in 2020. Qurbani's version recontextualised the lead role of Franz as Francis, an

Afro-German Afro-Germans () or Black Germans () are German Citizens of Sub-Saharan African descent. Cities such as Hamburg and Frankfurt, which were formerly centres of occupation forces following World War II and more recent immigration, have substantial ...

refugee from

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

References

Bibliography

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External links

Full text of '
at HathiTrust Digital Library {{Authority control 1929 German-language novels Novels by Alfred Döblin Novels about cities Novels about German prostitution Novels set in the 1920s Novels set in Berlin Futurist literature Modernist novels Weimar culture German novels adapted into films German novels adapted into television shows Works about criminals S. Fischer Verlag books 1929 German novels NYRB Classics