Discovering German Literature in Translation
A few years ago , Deutsche Welle compiled a list of the top 100 English-translated German novels , going back to 1901 . Last issue , I reviewed two Austrian novels from the list that were written almost 50 years apart . This time I ’ m going further — two novels with 74 years between them , though this time both are set in Berlin . Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum might be familiar to some , though I have to admit I had never heard of it . It was published over several months in 1929 as a serialized story in a Berlin magazine and was an immediate hit . In 1930 it was adapted into a stage show and translated into English . Baum then relocated to Los Angeles and adapted the novel to a film , which premiered in 1932 starring Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford , winning numerous awards , including an Oscar for Best Picture .
The story is set in a glitzy hotel in a Berlin that is bustling and cosmopolitan . There are multiple personalities and perspectives , both guests and staff : a great Russian ballerina at the end stage of her career ; a World War I veteran ; a young , modern woman with big dreams ; a charismatic swindler ; and a lowly hotel porter with a pregnant wife . Their stories are intertwined ; as characters pass through the lobby of the luxury hotel observed by staff or meet in the breakfast room , we hear their opinions of each other and their own back-stories and motivations . There is escape and glamor but with a foundation in reality , and the characters have depth and authenticity and their own real anxieties . It is an in-between time for the city and the characters , and we can see how well Baum did that in retrospect — touching on the recovery from the First World War alongside the first whispers of the Depression that eventually led the country to the Second World War . Grand Hotel was a precursor to class dramas like Upstairs , Downstairs and Downton Abbey , as well as lavish hotel films like Grand Budapest Hotel , amongst others .
Berlin Blues portrays a very different Berlin — the gritty West Berlin of 1989 . The novel is hilarious — absurd and sarcastic , with great dialogue . The scope of the novel is small in comparison to the grandness and macro scale of Grand Hotel : a bartender — Frank , called Herr Lehman by all his friends — has managed to avoid many adult responsibilities most of his life and is happy with his career . But a series of inconveniences — a dog , an impending family visit , an infatuation with a woman , an unfortunate trip to East Germany , the breakdown of a close friend — leads him to a bit of an existential crisis . This is a book where not a lot happens , but the dialogue and episodes are funny and the characters are self-deprecating . Sven Regener , the author , is a German rock musician . Berlin Blues was his debut novel , and it went on to sell over one million copies . It was also adapted to film in 2003 and was very well received , winning a number of awards .
Michaela A
Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum , 1929 ( English translation by Basil Creighton , revised by Margot Bettauer Dembo , 2016 )
Berlin Blues by Sven Regener , 2001 ( German title : Herr Lehmann ; English translation by John Brownjohn )