Books by Irmgard Keun
“Keun became one of the most significant female authors of the late Weimar period, a very prominent representative of the Neue Sachlichkeit—the new sobriety—style in literature. Her books were commercially successful as well. This particular novel was published in 1932. The protagonist is Doris, an eighteen-year old woman from a small town who wants to be famous and make it in the movie industry, in the big smoke… This is, ultimately, a tragic novel that deals with crushed hopes and expectations, but also a really good corrective to the slightly cliché-ed image that emerges from reading about the Roaring Twenties in Isherwood’s Goodbye to Berlin.” Read more...
The best books on The Weimar Republic
Robert Gerwarth, Historian
Interviews where books by Irmgard Keun were recommended
Short Classic Books
Classic books have stood the test of time and continue to appeal to new readers, but they can feel intimidating. Whether you want to ease your way into classic literature by starting with shorter books, don’t have much time to read, or simply admire writers who are able to say more with less, below is a list of short classic books recommended by experts on Five Books over the years.
The best books on The Weimar Republic, recommended by Robert Gerwarth
The Weimar Republic was not doomed to fail, says the historian Robert Gerwarth; it was, in many ways, popularly rooted and successful, and its artistic achievements remain influential to this day. Here he selects five books that illustrate the rich cultural life of the Weimar Republic, its pioneering modernism and the febrile political atmosphere that gripped it in the wake of the Great Depression.
