Goodbye to Berlin
The sequel to Mr. Norris Changes Trains, this is another semi-autobiographical account of Isherwood’s experiences in pre-war Berlin. The author leads the reader on a thoroughly entertaining tour through the seedier side of a particularly decadent time in that city’s history.
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What Hacker News says
- Christopher Isherwood's Berlin stories (Mr Norris Changes Trains and Goodbye to Berlin). Not sure why it took me so long to find them as I've long been fascinated by the slightly end of days-type hedonistic atmosphere that late Weimar-era Berlin apparently had. From that perspective they really didn't disappoint.
In a similar vein, although it's been a while since I read it, I'd strongly recommend J G Ballard's semi-autobiographical Empire of the Sun - especially the earlier sections set in pre and post invasion Shanghai are also very evocative.
- Potential, Ariel Schrag. An autobiographical comic book written by a straight/bi/lesbian/queer girl about her junior year of high school. Totally changed my ideas about honesty in writing. http://www.amazon.com/Potential-Ariel-Schrag/dp/094315104X
The Eighteenth Emergency, Betsy Byars. Re-read this when I was an adult and realised how brilliantly Byars does dialogue, and how she builds the whole millieu around it. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eighteenth-Emergency-Betsy-Byars/dp/...
Goodbye To Berlin, Christopher Isherwood. A memoir of Isherwood's time in pre-Nazi Germany. The most beautiful prose I have ever read. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodbye_to_Berlin
