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Review
“The magnificently humble. The enormously small. The meaningfully ridiculous. Robert Walser’s work often reads like a dazzling answer to the question, How immense can modesty be? If Emily Dickinson made cathedrals of em dashes and capital letters and the angle of winter light, Walser accomplishes the feat with, well, ladies’ feet and trousers, and little emotive words like joy, uncapitalized.”
—Rivka Galchen, Harper’s
“Walser’s fictions are charged with compassion: awareness of the creatureliness of life, of the fellowship of sadness. He is a truly wonderful, heartbreaking writer.”
—Susan Sontag
“A writer of considerable wit, talent and originality . . . recognized by such impressive contemporaries as Kafka, Brod, Hesse and Musil . . . [and] primarily known to German literary scholars and to English readers lucky enough to have discovered [his work] . . . [Walser’s tales] are to be read slowly and savored . . . [and] are filled with lovely and disturbing moments that will stay with the reader for some time to come.” —Ronald De Feo, The New York Times
—Rivka Galchen, Harper’s
“Walser’s fictions are charged with compassion: awareness of the creatureliness of life, of the fellowship of sadness. He is a truly wonderful, heartbreaking writer.”
—Susan Sontag
“A writer of considerable wit, talent and originality . . . recognized by such impressive contemporaries as Kafka, Brod, Hesse and Musil . . . [and] primarily known to German literary scholars and to English readers lucky enough to have discovered [his work] . . . [Walser’s tales] are to be read slowly and savored . . . [and] are filled with lovely and disturbing moments that will stay with the reader for some time to come.” —Ronald De Feo, The New York Times
Product Description
A New York Review Books Original
In 1905 the young Swiss writer Robert Walser arrived in Berlin to join his older brother Karl, already an important stage-set designer, and immediately threw himself into the vibrant social and cultural life of the city. Berlin Stories collects his alternately celebratory, droll, and satirical observations on every aspect of the bustling German capital, from its theaters, cabarets, painters’ galleries, and literary salons, to the metropolitan street, markets, the Tiergarten, rapid-service restaurants, and the electric tram. Originally appearing in literary magazines as well as the feuilleton sections of newspapers, the early stories are characterized by a joyous urgency and the generosity of an unconventional guide. Later pieces take the form of more personal reflections on the writing process, memories, and character studies. All are full of counter-intuitive images and vignettes of startling clarity, showcasing a unique talent for whom no detail was trivial, at grips with a city diving headlong into modernity.
In 1905 the young Swiss writer Robert Walser arrived in Berlin to join his older brother Karl, already an important stage-set designer, and immediately threw himself into the vibrant social and cultural life of the city. Berlin Stories collects his alternately celebratory, droll, and satirical observations on every aspect of the bustling German capital, from its theaters, cabarets, painters’ galleries, and literary salons, to the metropolitan street, markets, the Tiergarten, rapid-service restaurants, and the electric tram. Originally appearing in literary magazines as well as the feuilleton sections of newspapers, the early stories are characterized by a joyous urgency and the generosity of an unconventional guide. Later pieces take the form of more personal reflections on the writing process, memories, and character studies. All are full of counter-intuitive images and vignettes of startling clarity, showcasing a unique talent for whom no detail was trivial, at grips with a city diving headlong into modernity.
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4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Any new Walser is welcome, Mar 11 2012
By Ivar Zeile "+ gallery" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Berlin Stories (Paperback)
Fans of Robert Walser can rejoice in another translation that brings more of his work to light. Berlin Stories has numerous terrific moments, the unique context of his time spent in Berlin is fascinating and like all of his writing, it resonates fully across the generations. My favorite quote from the first essay sums up Walser's beautiful insight into humanity: "What has become of us as a people that we can possess the beautiful only in dreams." It's a book worth reading over and over and worth sharing amongst friends.
7 of 21 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
an enthusiastic, if quirky guide through pre-Weimar Berlin, Jan 30 2012
By Lauren B. Davis - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Berlin Stories (Paperback)
Robert Walser was an early 20th c. Swiss writer who traveled to Berlin to live with his brother, who was a successful set designer in the theater world. This is the first English translation of his "Berlin Stories", which first appeared in lit mags and newspapers, although to call them stories is a bit of a stretch; they are sketches, observations of the streets, galleries, theaters, markets, parks and transportation systems of the city.Walser is an enthusiastic, if somewhat quirky guide through the city, and these pieces read well as verbal set pieces. They are often funny, sometimes satirical, and generally engaging, although to the modern reader they may feel a bit two-dimensional, a bit repetitive.
The time period is that prior to the upheavals the Weimar Republic and so there is much optimism and joie de vivre, which can't help but leave a slightly ironic taste on the tongue, since the reader is much aware of subsequent events. One can't help but wonder what might have been if history had taken a different trajectory.
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