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cruelspirit's review
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I've long said that Alfred Döblin's Berlin Alexanderplatz is not only my favorite work of German literature but also one of my all time favorite books. I've been eager to explore more of his works and among some of the larger texts I've acquired, I thought this short collection of stories would be a good next step.
Bright Magic is a collection of short stories released by NYRB back in 2016, anticipation of their edition of Berlin Alexanderplatz. These stories span the career of Döblin from his early work in the 1910s to the 1940s. I love getting to read a career spanning short story collection like this but unfortunately I felt ultimately underwhelmed with what was presented to me.
This collection is a bit strange in terms of its flow of curation. The stories are organized in chronological order but that doesn't exactly make for a great reading experience. The first hundred pages are all stories from Döblin's first book die ermordung einer butterblume und andere erzählungen (The Murder of a Buttercup). It certainly is interesting to see where Döblin started and having this collection finally in English is a joy for anglophonic Döblin fans but it personally wasn't that enjoyable to me.
There were a few stories from this collection that I enjoyed but I was rather indifferent to most of them. I think the main component to my indifference is that the surreal, magical realism elements of these stories are not what I enjoyed most from Döblin. What I truly loved about Berlin Alexanderplatz is the gritty narrative and detailed descriptions of Weimar era Berlin. There were moments of surrealism in Berlin Alexanderplatz that I remember enjoying but those were more in my favor as they paced out the narrative in a nice way and offered an interesting counterbalance to the harsh realism. Reading all stories of the otherworldly just felt like an over indulgence for my tastes.
That being said, I did find I enjoyed the book more as it moved along. The second hundred pages are two stories that allow Döblin to explore these surrealist and magical realism moments in greater detail. Particularly, I enjoyed the story Traffic With The Beyond as it was a fun exploration of spirituality and the occult which felt very in line with the works of Edgar Allen Poe and other Gothic iconography.
Similar to Science Fiction short stories, I often have a hard time with short stories of surrealism and magical realism. This is mainly due to the limited page count allocated to world building to establish what otherworldly elements can and cannot exist. Often by the time I'm acclimated to this world I find that the story has reached its end.
This collection ends with some of my favorite stories here, which is a real shame since they only consist of less than 10 pages of the entire book. These stories come from a 1948 collection entitled Incomprehensible Stories. These very brief stories have a lighthearted and absurdist tone that feel very in line with the works of Richard Brautigan, I'd be interested to see if he ever took interest in the works of Döblin. After reading this I'm most interested in seeing what else from this Incomprehensible Stories collection exists.
I should also mention I'm reading from an ARC copy I came across. It is missing a few elements, one of which being the introduction by Günter Grass, something I'd wish I could have read as Döblin is certainly an influence of Grass and this introduction may have offered more insight into the value of this collection on a grander scale.
Overall, I just found this to be a bit of a mess to read. A collection of his first book, two 50 page stories, and then a few brief absurdist stories. I think if you are a Döblin completionist or die hard fan this collection is worth your time but if you are looking for an introduction or a casual reading experience this isn't the place.
Bright Magic is a collection of short stories released by NYRB back in 2016, anticipation of their edition of Berlin Alexanderplatz. These stories span the career of Döblin from his early work in the 1910s to the 1940s. I love getting to read a career spanning short story collection like this but unfortunately I felt ultimately underwhelmed with what was presented to me.
This collection is a bit strange in terms of its flow of curation. The stories are organized in chronological order but that doesn't exactly make for a great reading experience. The first hundred pages are all stories from Döblin's first book die ermordung einer butterblume und andere erzählungen (The Murder of a Buttercup). It certainly is interesting to see where Döblin started and having this collection finally in English is a joy for anglophonic Döblin fans but it personally wasn't that enjoyable to me.
There were a few stories from this collection that I enjoyed but I was rather indifferent to most of them. I think the main component to my indifference is that the surreal, magical realism elements of these stories are not what I enjoyed most from Döblin. What I truly loved about Berlin Alexanderplatz is the gritty narrative and detailed descriptions of Weimar era Berlin. There were moments of surrealism in Berlin Alexanderplatz that I remember enjoying but those were more in my favor as they paced out the narrative in a nice way and offered an interesting counterbalance to the harsh realism. Reading all stories of the otherworldly just felt like an over indulgence for my tastes.
That being said, I did find I enjoyed the book more as it moved along. The second hundred pages are two stories that allow Döblin to explore these surrealist and magical realism moments in greater detail. Particularly, I enjoyed the story Traffic With The Beyond as it was a fun exploration of spirituality and the occult which felt very in line with the works of Edgar Allen Poe and other Gothic iconography.
Similar to Science Fiction short stories, I often have a hard time with short stories of surrealism and magical realism. This is mainly due to the limited page count allocated to world building to establish what otherworldly elements can and cannot exist. Often by the time I'm acclimated to this world I find that the story has reached its end.
This collection ends with some of my favorite stories here, which is a real shame since they only consist of less than 10 pages of the entire book. These stories come from a 1948 collection entitled Incomprehensible Stories. These very brief stories have a lighthearted and absurdist tone that feel very in line with the works of Richard Brautigan, I'd be interested to see if he ever took interest in the works of Döblin. After reading this I'm most interested in seeing what else from this Incomprehensible Stories collection exists.
I should also mention I'm reading from an ARC copy I came across. It is missing a few elements, one of which being the introduction by Günter Grass, something I'd wish I could have read as Döblin is certainly an influence of Grass and this introduction may have offered more insight into the value of this collection on a grander scale.
Overall, I just found this to be a bit of a mess to read. A collection of his first book, two 50 page stories, and then a few brief absurdist stories. I think if you are a Döblin completionist or die hard fan this collection is worth your time but if you are looking for an introduction or a casual reading experience this isn't the place.
masonanddixon's review
3.0
Wildly inconsistent. Doblin's tales of humankind's absurd place in nature are passionately told, and manically described, but for every grotesque Poe inspired tale, or eerily prescient psychological expressionist portrait, there's a thudding bore of an experiment. Still, makes me desperately want to read one of his novels. The man seemed willing to try anything (even the absurdist paragraph fiction that Daniil Kharms perfected!)
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