Mr. Norris Changes Trains: Amazon.co.uk: Christopher Isherwood: Books

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About the Author
Christopher Isherwood was born in 1904 and moved to America where he took up formal citizenship in 1946. His many famous works include Mr. Norris Changes Trains and Goodbye to Berlin. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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4.5 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Splendid Reading of a Unique Novel., 5 May 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Mr. Norris Changes Trains (Penguin Classics) (Audio Cassette)

On a very few occasions in one's life a personality is encountered who is by all rational measures is an out and out scoundrel, amoral, treacherous, mendacious, cowardly and - totally irresistible. It is a mystery why such persons should earn tolerance, and even regard, and why they should live on in one's memory and affection long after many more worthy characters one has known have faded into obscurity. It is Christopher Isherwood's genius, in this, his probably best novel, to describe such a character in such convincing detail that he lives on, years after first reading, as a personality more real than many actual persons of one's acquaintance. Little good can be said about Arthur Norris - other than that he is an engaging companion - and the reader is never in any doubt about his total unreliability, but it is impossible not to like him as he weaves his pathetically futile schemes of cunning and treachery against the backdrop of the last days of Weimar Germany. With a minimum of detail, but with that minimum telling, Isherwood fixes the time and locale with sharp accuracy and brings it further to life with a bizarre but credible cast of supporting characters. The balance between comedy and tragedy, farce and outright horror, is splendidly managed. This talking book version is all but perfect. Alan Cumming is an ideal reader and adopts a wide range of voices and accents throughout. His use of pauses and of changes of tone and emphasis is masterly. Arthur Norris's fruity tone are horribly enjoyable while the dreadful Kuno (to hear him ask if the narrator has read "Vinnie the Pooh" is enough to make the flesh crawl) becomes an almost palpable presence. In summary - one of the best Talking Books I've encountered. It's the only one you'll need on a long car journey since you'll listen to it over and over.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Charming, 15 Feb 2004

By	"jarabara" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mr. Norris Changes Trains (Modern Classics) (Paperback)

When William Bradshaw first meets Mr Norris on the train home, we are introduced to a character that makes us feel strangely protective and who is delightful and impossible to dislike. By the end of the novel though it is clear that Isherwood is truly representing through Mr Norris one of his ex boyfriends who he came to regard as a 'rogue laced with poison'. Such a character arc is an amazing feat and one that Isherwood handles well. The book is well written, easy to read and full of delights. The big reveal is a little predictable and the ending a little unblievable but despite that this is well worth a read and I would be interested to read more of Isherwood's work based on this book. Many authors must wish they were this good!

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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A front row seat at Pre-Nazi Germany`s decline, 12 Oct 2000

By	trttx@aol.com (WEATHERFORD TEXAS USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mr. Norris Changes Trains (Paperback)

As pre-Hitler German society heads towards disintergration through decadence and depraved indifference,the "Elite incrowd" shamlesslly ride on a merry-go-round of self-destrution. This book is a rare glimpse from behind the mirror at a nation wallowing in self-depravity and hedonistic behaviour only comparable to the "Fall of the Roman Empire". The main charactor Sally Bowles flits through life as an etheral butterfly who`s only problems in life are worring about the next party,-the next lover,-the next "goodtimes",whilst her rather nieve friend and confident Norris is more an "observer of life" than a "participant". In Isherwood`s subsequent novel "Goodby to Berlin" Sally Bowles was still a "flighty" character with self- serving "hustler" traits, whilst in "Mr Norris changes trains" one feels she has reached new depths of self-indulgence that can only lead to a state of life that calls for another way of living or ultimatly another way of dying! Judge for yourself,-but remember this was a society where at the end of the day relationships are as important as a suitcase full of Deutch marks-and tommorw may never come.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Evocation of Pre War Berlin
In this novella Isherwood revisits the familiar ground of Pre War Berlin in the thirties, but from a slightly more comedic angle than the menacingly wonderful Goodbye to Berlin... Read more

Published 4 months ago by Mrs. K. A. Wheatley

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, subtle, profound
First, the edition I have read is a Vintage Classics paperback dated 1999, not a talking book. Sally Bowles is not a character in this novel. Read more

Published on 15 Jul 2006 by Reptile

4.0 out of 5 stars A Berlin Cabaret
Remembered, if at all, as the origin of the musical Cabaret; this book stays in my memory, not because of Mr Norris (he would be glad to hear), but because it brings to life the... Read more

Published on 7 Jun 2003 by stephenbentley4

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	59% buy the item featured on this page: Mr. Norris Changes Trains 4.5 out of 5 stars (6)
	20% buy The Berlin Novels 5.0 out of 5 stars (1) �7.69
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Mr. Norris Changes Trains (Paperback)

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