The Berlin Stories is a republication of two freestanding novels, The Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin released in 1935 and 1939 respectively. Reading Isherwood for me was both interesting and enjoyable...a real treat to get back to original source material from the much more familiar Cabaret of the American stage and Liza Minelli/Joel Grey film.
Isherwood’s writing, of which there is abundance, is lucid and evocative. His style and vocabulary, however, are dated in the pre-World War II era. This is both his strength and his weakness. The style dates back to this reviewer’s early years so there is a certain comfort level associated with it. The contemporary reader I suspect will find the work awkward, stilted, and a little pretentious.
The story line is actually secondary in reading Isherwood...his real skill is not riveting plot but masterful creation of pre-Hitler ambiance. Reading The Last of Mr. Norris is a sort of history lesson seen from the vantage point of a wealthy ex-patriate English gentleman solidly embedded in Berlin society. With a bit of poetic license, the narrator actually is the author.
What is good about these two stories is not so much the writing but the background they provide for other artistic expressions...the play, I Am a Camera and the better known musical, Cabaret.
While the interactions of the narrator with the characters are stylized and pompous from our perspective, some of the writing is really quite nice... “Here my reasoning came to an end. It was bounded by guesses and possibilities as vague and limitless as the darkness which enclosed the train.” This sort of image appears often...the writer serves up mood rather than action, but does it well...so long as the reader is happy with medium over message.
I’ve long wanted to read Isherwood, mostly because I enjoyed Cabaret so much. My curiosity is now satisfied. I feel no need or desire to read more. Unfortunately I can’t really recommend this to the contemporary reading public...it’s interesting historically, but leaves the modern literary appetite unappeased.