[Book] The Berlin Stories

"I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking."

The Berlin Stories consists of two semi-biographical novels first published in 1935 and 1939 respectively. Goodbye to Berlin is a collection of short stories, consisting of the anecdotes from the writer's experiences in Berlin in the early 1930s during Hitler's rise to power. Written in the same time period, The Last of Mr. Norris resembles more like a novel but is still episodic in its storytelling. Although historically relevant in their time and place, Isherwood's stories concern mostly about the individuals he'd met in the city of Berlin and how the political atmosphere has affected them. What makes The Berlin Stories a good read is Isherwood's characters; they are eccentric and lively, not necessarily likable but always memorable. Characters like Arthur Norris and Sally Bowles stay with the reader long after their stories have ended (not necessarily finished since they continue to live on beyond the pages). Isherwood's writing is causal and lively, and he describes his characters with such a force that it's easy to believe they are real, and they might as well have been. An enjoyable read.

8/10