I know I’ve been MIA lately, so here’s a quick check-in, featuring short reviews of — drumroll please — three German Krimis. I suppose that seems kind of random, but I’ve been reading a number of them lately, thanks to a class I’m taking. In this entry I’ll give a run-down of what I’ve read so far and why I’ve rated each novel as I have.
Bereit? 3, 2, 1, los!
Die Tote von Charlottenburg – Susanne Goga
2 stars. The plot was interesting enough, but the historical setting wasn’t quite believable. Besides the interesting depictions of misery and inflation, and the beating-me-over-the-head foreshadowing of the Nazi period, it really didn’t convince me that I was in 1920s Berlin. Many of the sympathetic characters, or at least many of the characters it seemed you were supposed to sympathize with, sounded more like mouthpieces for modern (liberal) viewpoints. Particularly the lionization of the feminists advising and “helping” women to get illegal abortions was a complete turn-off. The stuff about Buddhism also seemed to come more from the author than from the characters, even given that there historically was a Dr. Dahlke who set up a Buddhist monastery in Berlin (and, let’s not forget, Hermann Hesse published Siddhartha in 1922). Beyond all that, though, the plot could be seriously melodramatic at times. I’m thinking of one time in particular, but sharing it would constitute a spoiler.
Anyway, I’ve had practically nothing nice to say so far, so let me end by admitting that overall it was a decent murder mystery. I will agree with that review in the Spiegel that the “Mordmethode” (lit. murder-method) was fascinatingly original, and I did enjoy the historical factoids and descriptions that came up in the book, even if the overall milieu didn’t convince me.
München Blues – Max Bronski
3 stars. This book was hilarious. Basically, the narrator Gossec runs around Munich insulting people and swinging his Totschläger — with a few moments in between to fatten himself up or hit on a beautiful woman — in order to seek justice for his pot-smoking computer nerd friend Julius, who was suddenly thrown out of his apartment. I did a lot of giggling while reading this book. Weirdly opposite to Die Tote von Charlottenburg, I didn’t find the plot to be very interesting in itself. The characters and the narration, however, were far more colorful. Because of the heavy slang and pop culture references, it was incredibly difficult for a non-native like myself to read, but it was worth the effort. Or maybe I just have a weird sense of humor?
Philosophenpunsch – Hermann Bauer
4 stars. After reading this, I kind of want to read the rest of Leopold’s hobby-detective adventures. In relation to the other two Krimis, Philosophenpunsch had pretty much the best of both worlds: the complex, suspenseful “whodunit” plot of Goga’s novel, paired with the colorful characters and sometimes absurd humor of Bronski’s. Bauer highlights certain sociopolitical and philosophical issues in his novel, but somehow they felt more integrated, sophisticated and far less contrived than in Die Tote von Charlottenburg. I never felt I was being beat over the head. (Perhaps it’s not fair to compare them; Bauer is, after all, working with a contemporary setting rather than a historical one.) The humorous characterizations and situations are also less over-the-top than those in München Blues — although, I have to say, that Santa Claus scene just about did me in. Unforgettable.
