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Alone in Berlin - Penguin Modern Classics (Paperback)
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Alone in Berlin - Penguin Modern Classics (Paperback)

(author), (translator)
£9.99
Paperback 608 Pages
Published: 28/01/2010
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Waterstones Says

An unbearably tense, deeply moving thriller set in wartime Berlin, which celebrates the quiet heroism of resistance in the face of brutality and shows the merciless human cost of conflict.

Inspired by a true story, Hans Fallada's Alone in Berlin is the gripping tale of an ordinary man's determination to defy the tyranny of Nazi rule. This Penguin Classics edition contains an afterword by Geoff Wilkes, as well as facsimiles of the original Gestapo file which inspired the novel.

Berlin, 1940, and the city is filled with fear. At the house on 55 Jablonski Strasse, its various occupants try to live under Nazi rule in their different ways: the bullying Hitler loyalists the Persickes, the retired judge Fromm and the unassuming couple Otto and Anna Quangel.

Then the Quangels receive the news that their beloved son has been killed fighting in France. Shocked out of their quiet existence, they begin a silent campaign of defiance, and a deadly game of cat and mouse develops between the Quangels and the ambitious Gestapo inspector Escherich. When petty criminals Kluge and Borkhausen also become involved, deception, betrayal and murder ensue, tightening the noose around the Quangels' necks...

'One of the most extraordinary and compelling novels written about World War II. Ever' - Alan Furst

'Terrific ...a fast-moving, important and astutely deadpan thriller' Irish Times 'An unrivalled and vivid portrait of life in wartime Berlin' - Philip Kerr

'To read Fallada's testament to the darkest years of the 20th century is to be accompanied by a wise, somber ghost who grips your shoulder and whispers into your ear: "This is how it was. This is what happened"' - The New York Times

If you enjoyed Alone in Berlin, you might like John Steinbeck's The Moon is Down, also available in Penguin Modern Classics. 

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780141189383
Number of pages: 608
Weight: 412 g
Dimensions: 198 x 128 x 26 mm


MEDIA REVIEWS

One of the most extraordinary and compelling novels written about World War II. Ever. - Alan Furst

Terrific ... a fast-moving, important and astutely deadpan thriller. - Irish Times

A classic study of a paranoid society. Fallada's scope is extraordinary. Alone in Berlin is ... as morally powerful as anything I've ever read. - Charlotte Moore, Telegraph

The greatest book ever written about the German resistance to the Nazis. - Primo Levi

Fallada assembles a cast of vivid low-life characters, stoolies, thieves and whores - James Buchan, Guardian

Visceral, chilling ... has the suspense of a Le Carré novel - New Yorker

A classic study of a paranoid society. Fallada's scope is extraordinary. Alone in Berlin is ... as morally powerful as anything I've ever read - Charlotte Moore, Telegraph

First published in Germany in 1947 and evoking the horror of life in Germany in the Second World War. A rediscovered masterpiece that makes you want to seek out more works by this great chronicler of events in my own lifetime. - Barry Humphries, Books of the Year, Sunday Telegraph

The other fictional high point of 2009 was Alone in Berlin ... Hans Fallada's 1947 portrait of an ordinary German couple stung into a life of protest by the death of their soldier son is harrowing and masterly. - David Robson, Books of the Year, Sunday Telegraph

[This novel] suggests that resistance to evil is rarely straightforward, mostly futile, and generally doomed. Yet to the novel's aching, unanswered question: 'Does it matter?' there is in this strange and compelling story to be found a reply in the affirmative. Primo Levi had it right: This is the great novel of German resistance. - Richard Flanagan

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Sarah at Isle of Wight

“An eye opening classic”

Although I found reading this book more challenging than what I'm used to reading, I stuck with it and thought it was absolutely brilliant. Filled with a range of complex characters, it takes you on a journey of... More

Paperback edition
1 similar book recommended
Helpful? Upvote 147

“Excellent read about resilience in wartime Berlin!”

Excellent read, its a good read about resilience in Berlin under Nazi rule. Book starts well, but then slows down a little in the middle. But the ending is lovely although a little sad! A must read book!

Paperback edition
Helpful? Upvote 139

“Fantastic”

My grandmother spent her late teens and early twenties in war time Berlin, so I know many stories, but more about the effects of war rather than the effects of nazism. This book really helped me to understand the... More

Paperback edition
Helpful? Upvote 113

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