Berlin Alexanderplatz Readalong Week Three #GermanLitMonth

Week three and the reading was easier, although I’m further behind in the German original than I am with the English translation. More of a time issue than anything else.

“Chapters” 6/7

1. The German original calls the chapters “Books” not chapters. In my opinion this is a gross error and robs the English reader of seeing some intertextual links. How do you feel about this? It didn’t really bother me that there was this difference. I thought the use of Books in the original German made sense when you view Berlin Alexanderplatz as a collection of writing on this section of Berlin society, their customs and beliefs and practices. Something akin to a religious text, with the quotes from scripture, religious imagery and references to characters and stories in the Bible only serving to underline this.
2. Were you surprised to find out what happened to Franz after Reinhold pushed him out of the car? Do you find that Döblin is unnecessarily cruel to his creation? Yes, I was surprised when Reinhold did what he did.. I think because things happened so rapidly once he was in Magdeburg. Almost as if his arm was whipped off.Well, Döblin did warn us that Franz would be put through the ringer! A slow recovery wouldn’t have been anywhere near as interesting as the shock of Franz suffering life-changing injuries. It’s what writers do to their characters – put obstacles in their way to see how they react. The more shocking and larger the obstacle, the more dramatic the resulting narrative.
3. What does Berlin Alexanderplatz tell us about Döblin’s “Menschenbild” – his philosophical conception of human beings?I think he explores to what extent we can or do self-define ourselves and to what extent our choices and the environment we live in help or hinder that. Do we have free will or are we a product of our upbringing, life experiences and whatever fate brings our way?
4. Do you have a favourite character so far?Not really. I’m quite enjoying the bar scenes and the rambunctious energy of those, but I’m having a hard time finding anyone I really like that much.
5. In these chapters, we see Franz attending political meetings. What did you think about these sections and his friend’s reactions?I thought these were fascinating, not only to see how what was happening was discussed, but what ordinary people felt about it all.I know that Franz’s friends were concerned for his welfare and what he might be sucked into, but I did feel that they discouraged him too quickly from getting involved. He needed a new interest and needed to form new friendships, something to keep him occupied, so he didn’t fall back in with the Pums’ gang.
6. Most novels can be read without the reader knowing anything about the author’s life. What about this case? Were you compelled to read up on the author?I wouldn’t say I felt compelled and I didn’t want to find out anything about him until after I’d finished it.Reading the book has made me curious about its author but I wanted to come to the readalong free of any notions as to what extent the author drew from his own life experiences and how much of the book was a product of his research and imagination.

One week left and I might actually manage to make it to the end. But I’ve been frustrated with how little time I’ve had to read what others taking part have to say about the book.

If I do another readalong, I need to start the book sooner, read it and draft the blog post earlier and take part on others’ posts. I didn’t plan well enough to fit in with this one.