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shallihavemydwarf's review against another edition
2.0
To be fair, the quality of the writing is better than a 2, but I did not like the book. It reminded me of On the Road, and while this one was better, I still found it tedious and meandering (and while I realize that was the point, that doesn't necessarily make it a good or worthwhile point). I didn't find anything compelling here; drugs, dissatisfaction and name-dropping as a shorthand for intellectualism. Books don't have to have plots, but they should have something.
blauerbuchling's review against another edition
3.0
I found it very hard to be taken with this novel. There are some quite beautiful moments in terms of expression and language and I enjoyed these moments very much. However, I couldn’t get warm with the protagonist, which is basically a death sentence for a character-driven novel like this one. Additionally, the side characters didn’t give me much either and I had the feeling that the novel sometimes is deliberately vague just for the sake of it.
jeninmotion's review against another edition
3.0
2.75 stars. This starts out so well, but the timeline of this book is so fractured for no good reason. I'm pretty sure I can't quite follow what time frame is what during various trips to Berlin that Jed takes. Almost no one seems to have a name beyond Cello and Manfred, so eventually all this beautiful prose and potentially meaningful...stuff...get lost in, "I'm not sure what's happening now...."
mkat303's review against another edition
I never know if I should file something in "read" or "to read" when I read a bit and didn't finish it. Not sure I'm going to go back to this one, although one never knows, so I guess it's in the "read" pile.
axmed's review
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
allie_shu's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
nostradamusbuddy's review against another edition
4.0
Four stars because the prose is excellent and because of that alone I would read anything else Pinckney has written, but I'm actually lukewarm about the book overall.
The basic premise is that Jed goes to live with his estranged cousin in Berlin following a brief stint in rehab. There, he works for Rosen-Montag, an architect that hasn't ever really built anything. While in Berlin Jed shuffles through a myriad of bars, flings/hook-ups, and pseudo-relapses. The most interesting parts, for me, are the ones that dealt with his family in Chicago. The narrative in Chicago feels concrete and understandable, while the one in Berlin is disjointed and hazy at best, due in part to the novel's nonlinear structure. I also couldn't make sense of the whole architecture plot at all, which made for a frustrating reading experience.
Overall, the book is all over the place, but the prose (and the fact that I needed to write a coherent paper one this) kept me engaged through the end, even if I couldn't really make sense of the plot afterward.
The basic premise is that Jed goes to live with his estranged cousin in Berlin following a brief stint in rehab. There, he works for Rosen-Montag, an architect that hasn't ever really built anything. While in Berlin Jed shuffles through a myriad of bars, flings/hook-ups, and pseudo-relapses. The most interesting parts, for me, are the ones that dealt with his family in Chicago. The narrative in Chicago feels concrete and understandable, while the one in Berlin is disjointed and hazy at best, due in part to the novel's nonlinear structure. I also couldn't make sense of the whole architecture plot at all, which made for a frustrating reading experience.
Overall, the book is all over the place, but the prose (and the fact that I needed to write a coherent paper one this) kept me engaged through the end, even if I couldn't really make sense of the plot afterward.
arisbookcorner's review against another edition
2.0
IQ "I was impressed with myself. I was not hinting that I was keeping the lid on something big: Cello was an Ibsen play in blackface. To lie and to keep my own secrets had been the chief strategy of my life, but complete discretion for someone else's sake was a new experience of maturity for me." (150)
Jed's family offers a satisfying look at Black upper-class expectations (Black excellence), they were all raised with high expectations and Jed is suffering from the guilt of not meeting those (aka being the embodiment of a Black male stereotype). The book covers the usual issues with upper middle class Black people; the double standard, the obsession with lightness, the hint (or siren) of respectability politics, what happens when you don't fit a particular image (in Jed's case being gay and a recovering alcoholic/drug user). Although it is worth noting that Jed's mother is a much-derided activist in their community however this does not negate her middle class background, in fact it comes into play in interesting ways through her relationship with Cello and her children. In one particularly telling moment Jed describes his parents, "they would always look like decent people, the right sort of black people, whereas I had to talk for a few minutes before white people decided not to throw me out of wherever I was" and he's not talking about how he dresses for those slow on the uptake. But putting these quips and observations aside it's hard to get to know any of the characters. Jed remains out of reach to the reader except for when he's reflecting on his loneliness in West Berlin, it is only then that my heart truly ached for him.
Jed may not have clear eyed view of being a Black expatriate, but it quickly becomes apparent that it's not all endless days crafting your art at cafes and living free from American racism for him although he did seemingly go in expecting that. Pinckney's characters also present frank reasons for being in Europe either by being honest themselves or from other characters' wry observations; "No it was not that that black American poet was a bad man, she said, getting up to take Dram's cigarette from him to smoke herself-he kissed her-it was that he was second-rate, which was worse. Those were precisely the people to avoid in Berlin, Cello said. They were in hip Berlin because in what was actually a village they could have the careers they could not have in New York or Los Angeles or London. She switched to English. They were never-was performance artists, never-to-finish-dissertation affirmative-action parasites" (223-224). In addition to this brutal commentary, the book acknowledges how difficult it can be to communicate when abroad. I think often in expat novels narrators act like it's so easy to pick up the language but Jed notes his frustration at only being able to speak basic German and not articulate more intellectual ideas and join in deep discussions with friends. I found this very relatable. There is also a good amount of time spent on the complexities of rehab/Alcoholics Anonymous when abroad. The descriptions of Berlin and Chicago are excellent, I've always heard people rave about Berlin and it was interesting to see that that was the case even when the Wall was there (the story takes place in West Berlin). There is a nice amount of German/European history mixed with cultural commentary and swipes at elitism, radicalism and the bohemian lifestyle. I enjoyed the Chicago sections immensely but it does get frustrating (and exhausting) trying to keep up with the constant switch from past to present. I'm still not sure I caught all the times when Jed was reminiscing versus living in the moment back home with his family. I also read most of the co-op descriptions in a daze, there are so many characters being thrown around and none of them turn out to be main ones.
BLACK DEUTSCHLAND attempts to be daring and different with its disjointed focus ranging from flashbacks to history lessons (at times it reminded me of WHAT WE LOSE which I'd realized finished) but I'm not well versed enough in literary criticism to say if it worked. For me, it was unappealing although I desperately wanted to like it. There are some quietly poignant moments aspects, such as Jed's despair over ever finding love, and the complications of this universal fear when you're incredibly self-conscious and an addict. Additionally the constant self-doubt and paranoia that comes with being a person of color are accurately reflected here, providing another narrative for this novel to shine. And the descriptions of Berlin and Chicago are vivid, crackling with life. For example, ChiChi brought back fond memories of my own time abroad (Cafe Belga in Brussels), you can easily imagine all the bar's patrons and envision the adventures they up to. And I did learn a lot, such as the reverence Black gay men held for Berlin in the '80s. It has gotten plenty of rave reviews so if the premise sounds intriguing I do recommend picking it up and I still intend on reading Pinckney's first novel, HIGH COTTON.
Jed's family offers a satisfying look at Black upper-class expectations (Black excellence), they were all raised with high expectations and Jed is suffering from the guilt of not meeting those (aka being the embodiment of a Black male stereotype). The book covers the usual issues with upper middle class Black people; the double standard, the obsession with lightness, the hint (or siren) of respectability politics, what happens when you don't fit a particular image (in Jed's case being gay and a recovering alcoholic/drug user). Although it is worth noting that Jed's mother is a much-derided activist in their community however this does not negate her middle class background, in fact it comes into play in interesting ways through her relationship with Cello and her children. In one particularly telling moment Jed describes his parents, "they would always look like decent people, the right sort of black people, whereas I had to talk for a few minutes before white people decided not to throw me out of wherever I was" and he's not talking about how he dresses for those slow on the uptake. But putting these quips and observations aside it's hard to get to know any of the characters. Jed remains out of reach to the reader except for when he's reflecting on his loneliness in West Berlin, it is only then that my heart truly ached for him.
Jed may not have clear eyed view of being a Black expatriate, but it quickly becomes apparent that it's not all endless days crafting your art at cafes and living free from American racism for him although he did seemingly go in expecting that. Pinckney's characters also present frank reasons for being in Europe either by being honest themselves or from other characters' wry observations; "No it was not that that black American poet was a bad man, she said, getting up to take Dram's cigarette from him to smoke herself-he kissed her-it was that he was second-rate, which was worse. Those were precisely the people to avoid in Berlin, Cello said. They were in hip Berlin because in what was actually a village they could have the careers they could not have in New York or Los Angeles or London. She switched to English. They were never-was performance artists, never-to-finish-dissertation affirmative-action parasites" (223-224). In addition to this brutal commentary, the book acknowledges how difficult it can be to communicate when abroad. I think often in expat novels narrators act like it's so easy to pick up the language but Jed notes his frustration at only being able to speak basic German and not articulate more intellectual ideas and join in deep discussions with friends. I found this very relatable. There is also a good amount of time spent on the complexities of rehab/Alcoholics Anonymous when abroad. The descriptions of Berlin and Chicago are excellent, I've always heard people rave about Berlin and it was interesting to see that that was the case even when the Wall was there (the story takes place in West Berlin). There is a nice amount of German/European history mixed with cultural commentary and swipes at elitism, radicalism and the bohemian lifestyle. I enjoyed the Chicago sections immensely but it does get frustrating (and exhausting) trying to keep up with the constant switch from past to present. I'm still not sure I caught all the times when Jed was reminiscing versus living in the moment back home with his family. I also read most of the co-op descriptions in a daze, there are so many characters being thrown around and none of them turn out to be main ones.
BLACK DEUTSCHLAND attempts to be daring and different with its disjointed focus ranging from flashbacks to history lessons (at times it reminded me of WHAT WE LOSE which I'd realized finished) but I'm not well versed enough in literary criticism to say if it worked. For me, it was unappealing although I desperately wanted to like it. There are some quietly poignant moments aspects, such as Jed's despair over ever finding love, and the complications of this universal fear when you're incredibly self-conscious and an addict. Additionally the constant self-doubt and paranoia that comes with being a person of color are accurately reflected here, providing another narrative for this novel to shine. And the descriptions of Berlin and Chicago are vivid, crackling with life. For example, ChiChi brought back fond memories of my own time abroad (Cafe Belga in Brussels), you can easily imagine all the bar's patrons and envision the adventures they up to. And I did learn a lot, such as the reverence Black gay men held for Berlin in the '80s. It has gotten plenty of rave reviews so if the premise sounds intriguing I do recommend picking it up and I still intend on reading Pinckney's first novel, HIGH COTTON.