First published 1979
Christopher Isherwood watches Berlin transform in 1931 as political tensions mount and Hitler begins his ascent. He encounters Sally Bowles, an English cabaret performer whose reckless adventures through the city's underground scene mask deeper vulnerabilities. Around them swirls a cast of residents caught between old and new worlds: the mysterious Mr. Norris, an aging libertine entangled with both Nazis and Communists; Fräulein Schroeder, their anxious landlady convinced her physical ailments require drastic solutions; and the wealthy Landauer family, whose Jewish heritage places them in growing danger. The narrator moves through Berlin's cafés and nightclubs, its elegant avenues and seedy corners, documenting a city where charm and menace coexist. As political violence erupts around them, these characters struggle to maintain their routines and relationships while the ground shifts beneath their feet. Isherwood captures the peculiar atmosphere of a society on the brink, where ordinary people attempt to navigate extraordinary circumstances that will soon reshape their world entirely.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, political-thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-fiction, political-thriller
Setting: Berlin
Period: 1931
191 pages · Hardcover · Bentley Pub