A Small Circus (Penguin Hardback Classics)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £3.85
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in A Small Circus (Penguin Hardback Classics) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £3.85, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Uncommonly vivid and original (Robert Musil )
Real love and real humanity (Hermann Hesse )
The best account of small-town Germany ... so terribly genuine, it is frightening (Kurt Tucholsky )
This novel's genius ... lies in Fallada's ability to reveal ... as well as to analyse the macabre game of musical chairs that was the Weimar Republic. Fallada gives us front-row seats to Germany's decade-long quest for a sacrificial scapegoat that culminated in the Nazi takeover. ... Two years after Alone in Berlin's runaway success, A Small Circus continues the Fallada revival that owes so much to the efforts of its translator, the poet Michael Hofmann (André Naffis-Sahely Independent )
Fallada creates characters with Dickensian prodigality, each yokel, hack, pig and pen-pusher brought to life in Michael Hofmann's beautifully judged translation ... a generous, life-affirming treat (Jake Kerridge Telegraph )
Michael Hofmann ... comes as close as possible to giving us Fallada's work in all its coarse, humorous, immediate, tragic glory (Charlotte Moore Spectator )
Not for the first time, all praise is due to Michael Hofmann's art and feel for nuance. His translation catches the many voices - some exasperated, others bewildered, a few downright angry - that make this bold, exuberant and candid narrative sizzle with life and the relentlessly shocking reality of it all (Irish Times )
Fallada's own experiences as a regional journalist in north Germany underlie the action, and it is this sense of realism, combined with an ear for dialogue and an acute understanding of human frailty, that make the novel such an authentic portrayal of an imploding era (Ben Hutchinson Observer )
Real love and real humanity (Hermann Hesse )
The best account of small-town Germany ... so terribly genuine, it is frightening (Kurt Tucholsky )
This novel's genius ... lies in Fallada's ability to reveal ... as well as to analyse the macabre game of musical chairs that was the Weimar Republic. Fallada gives us front-row seats to Germany's decade-long quest for a sacrificial scapegoat that culminated in the Nazi takeover. ... Two years after Alone in Berlin's runaway success, A Small Circus continues the Fallada revival that owes so much to the efforts of its translator, the poet Michael Hofmann (André Naffis-Sahely Independent )
Fallada creates characters with Dickensian prodigality, each yokel, hack, pig and pen-pusher brought to life in Michael Hofmann's beautifully judged translation ... a generous, life-affirming treat (Jake Kerridge Telegraph )
Michael Hofmann ... comes as close as possible to giving us Fallada's work in all its coarse, humorous, immediate, tragic glory (Charlotte Moore Spectator )
Not for the first time, all praise is due to Michael Hofmann's art and feel for nuance. His translation catches the many voices - some exasperated, others bewildered, a few downright angry - that make this bold, exuberant and candid narrative sizzle with life and the relentlessly shocking reality of it all (Irish Times )
Fallada's own experiences as a regional journalist in north Germany underlie the action, and it is this sense of realism, combined with an ear for dialogue and an acute understanding of human frailty, that make the novel such an authentic portrayal of an imploding era (Ben Hutchinson Observer )
Product Description
It is summer, 1929, and in a small German town a storm is brewing. The shabby reporter Tredup leads a precarious existence working for the Pomeranian Chronicle - until he takes some photographs that offer the chance to make a fortune. In Krüger's bar, the farmers are plotting their revenge on greedy officials. A mysterious travelling salesman from Berlin , Henning, is stirring up trouble - but no one knows why. Meanwhile the Nazis grow stronger and the Communists fight them in the streets. And at the centre of it all, the Mayor, 'Fatty' Gareis, seeks the easy life even as events spiral beyond his control.
As tensions erupt between workers and bosses, town and country, Left and Right, alliances are broken, bribes are taken and plots are hatched, until the tension spills over into violence.
Hans Fallada's raw, darkly humorous account of a town rife with corruption, greed and brutality, first published in 1931, was written as Weimar Germany collapsed around him. It is an extraordinary novel about the failure of governments and the failings of people. Michael Hofmann's brilliant, colloquialtranslation brings this work of intrigue and foreboding to English readers for the first time.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Like most people I first came across Hans Fallada with Alone in Berlin (Penguin Modern Classics). Finding that absolutely fantastic I then went on to read the other books that are currently in translation. Being offered this then was a definite treat. This is now the fifth Fallada book I have read and they have all been brilliant. As with his other books this is easily accessible and a pleasure to read. I would strongly advise anyone coming to this for the first time to read the Foreword by Jenny Williams. This will give you an understanding of the period it re-creates as well as the true inspiration for this.
There is no hero or anti-hero as such to this novel, it is quite strongly dialogue led and at times you feel that you are viewing a documentary of the fly on the wall type. Mixed with this is the more traditional type of story telling with what people are thinking, etc. Set in the last years of the Weimer Republic this story takes place in the fictional town of Altholm, and the outlaying area. With a newspaper trying to put out stories, small town politics, demonstrations and a bombing, an agent provocateur, and party politics getting in the way this is what the arena was like in Germany at the time.
This has a very dark strain of humour throughout, and with the current newspaper scandal this is a very opportune time to bring this translation out, as it can be seen as a satire on the topic. Why this works is because it isn't about just one person, it has a multitude of characters, all wanting money, power and trying to stay afloat in an uncertain world. With local politics as well as more senior levels breathing down the necks of these local people, and the array of political parties and affiliations this is a novel that draws you in and holds you throughout. With farmers against townies this is a great book to read again and again that nowadays can also be read as a study of how Nazism rose to power.
There is no hero or anti-hero as such to this novel, it is quite strongly dialogue led and at times you feel that you are viewing a documentary of the fly on the wall type. Mixed with this is the more traditional type of story telling with what people are thinking, etc. Set in the last years of the Weimer Republic this story takes place in the fictional town of Altholm, and the outlaying area. With a newspaper trying to put out stories, small town politics, demonstrations and a bombing, an agent provocateur, and party politics getting in the way this is what the arena was like in Germany at the time.
This has a very dark strain of humour throughout, and with the current newspaper scandal this is a very opportune time to bring this translation out, as it can be seen as a satire on the topic. Why this works is because it isn't about just one person, it has a multitude of characters, all wanting money, power and trying to stay afloat in an uncertain world. With local politics as well as more senior levels breathing down the necks of these local people, and the array of political parties and affiliations this is a novel that draws you in and holds you throughout. With farmers against townies this is a great book to read again and again that nowadays can also be read as a study of how Nazism rose to power.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
The time is 1929, when the Weimar Republic is being steadily weakened by conflicts between the forces of democracy, and the anti-democratic forces of both the left and the right, which will eventually lead to victory for the latter and the triumph of National Socialism and Hitler. The novel parallels this disintegration by events played out in Altholm, a small (fictitious) provincial town in Germany. There are many forces at work: the left-wing Mayor, who is the leading politician, sometimes out of step with the views of his `sponsors', the Social Democratic Party; local businessmen, keen to keep trade flowing; the police and militia; newspapers with both strong right and left wing views, desperate to keep their circulation figures up; and a farmers' organization with its own newspaper based in a neighbouring town. (There is a useful list at the start of the book to keep track of the numerous characters.) The novel is about how these political and social forces are unable to co-operate to solve a relatively simple problem, and as a result the town descends into mutual recrimination and even violence. (There are two bombings, an attempted assassination and a murder, although this book is not a thriller in the conventional sense.) Not surprisingly, the story is a complex one, with many (possibly a few too many) subplots.
The story starts with the attempt by two tax inspectors to sequester two cows from a farm in lieu of non-payment of taxes by the farmer. But the farmers in the district fight back by blocking the roads out of the area with burning hay, and the inspectors and officialdom are humiliated. A reporter for a local paper, The Chronicle, by chance photographs this act of defiance, and sees the opportunity to make some money by selling the photos. Needless to say, things do not go as planned and events get out of his control. When a farmers' protest march, led by a mysterious out-of-town agent provocateur, is violently suppressed by the militia, the farmers retaliate with a boycott of Altholm. The rest of the book is mainly about the attempts to achieve reconciliation between `town and country', but despite both sides suffering from the boycott, they are very unwilling to overcome their differences. It culminates in a long account of the trial of some farmers who are accused of violent behaviour towards the police during the march. At the end, both the Mayor and the editor of the Chronicle are forced to resign and leave town. The story ends bleakly when the District President (one layer above the Mayor) intervenes and uses the militia to enforce a ban on a march by the farmers to celebrate a reconciliation agreement. We know his action is likely to lead of the collapse of that agreement, yet another round of conflict, and a further twist in the downward spiral.
Some minor criticism: parts of the book are a little too long, particularly the section on the trial; always addressing people by their full titles is a bit wearying, but that is the Germanic style; the translation sometimes results in some curious English. I have also read `Alone in Berlin' by Fallada. Both are very well written; of the two I prefer the latter. But `A Small Circus' is still a very good read. Depressing it may be, but there is also humor, and it is an excellent portrait of small-town life and its petty animosities at a critical time for Germany.
The story starts with the attempt by two tax inspectors to sequester two cows from a farm in lieu of non-payment of taxes by the farmer. But the farmers in the district fight back by blocking the roads out of the area with burning hay, and the inspectors and officialdom are humiliated. A reporter for a local paper, The Chronicle, by chance photographs this act of defiance, and sees the opportunity to make some money by selling the photos. Needless to say, things do not go as planned and events get out of his control. When a farmers' protest march, led by a mysterious out-of-town agent provocateur, is violently suppressed by the militia, the farmers retaliate with a boycott of Altholm. The rest of the book is mainly about the attempts to achieve reconciliation between `town and country', but despite both sides suffering from the boycott, they are very unwilling to overcome their differences. It culminates in a long account of the trial of some farmers who are accused of violent behaviour towards the police during the march. At the end, both the Mayor and the editor of the Chronicle are forced to resign and leave town. The story ends bleakly when the District President (one layer above the Mayor) intervenes and uses the militia to enforce a ban on a march by the farmers to celebrate a reconciliation agreement. We know his action is likely to lead of the collapse of that agreement, yet another round of conflict, and a further twist in the downward spiral.
Some minor criticism: parts of the book are a little too long, particularly the section on the trial; always addressing people by their full titles is a bit wearying, but that is the Germanic style; the translation sometimes results in some curious English. I have also read `Alone in Berlin' by Fallada. Both are very well written; of the two I prefer the latter. But `A Small Circus' is still a very good read. Depressing it may be, but there is also humor, and it is an excellent portrait of small-town life and its petty animosities at a critical time for Germany.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Set in the fictional German town of Antholm, "A Small Circus" describes the build up to and aftermath of a farmers' demonstration which turns violent. The novel follows farmers, journalists, police, politicians, and businessmen, all of whom are only looking out for themselves or some profit, and for whom every action has an ulterior motive.
This is a frequently unpleasant and depressing book with, for the most part, unlikable and flawed characters. The constant politicking and scheming is reminiscent of that in The Wire and The Killing, for example, and is sometimes quite hard to follow. Through various conversations and meetings, Fallada builds up a layered picture of the town and the forces at work on it. From this portrait one can see why the Weimar Republic was in such trouble and how the Nazi party, who appear on the margins in this book, were able to build in power. Of course, the war was still some years off when Fallada published "A Small Circus" in 1931, but a reader today cannot help but be filled with dread knowing what awaits.
Much of the novel consists of direct speech, but there are some striking passages of description, a farmer's children, for example, are 'silent dwarves with frightening hands' and parenthesis is cuttingly deployed in the following: 'The little newspaper magnate of Pomerania, as his friends - he has none - call him.'. The translation itself seemed quite idiosyncratic, with frequent occurrence of words such as 'jounce', 'squinny' and 'a rickets' (i.e. a mess). Not knowing German, I'm not sure if this gives a good impression of Fallada's style or not, but I enjoyed it.
This new translation comes with a cast of characters (enjoyably described by the translator), some notes (irritatingly not indicated in the text itself) and a very good foreward by Jenny Williams.
This is a frequently unpleasant and depressing book with, for the most part, unlikable and flawed characters. The constant politicking and scheming is reminiscent of that in The Wire and The Killing, for example, and is sometimes quite hard to follow. Through various conversations and meetings, Fallada builds up a layered picture of the town and the forces at work on it. From this portrait one can see why the Weimar Republic was in such trouble and how the Nazi party, who appear on the margins in this book, were able to build in power. Of course, the war was still some years off when Fallada published "A Small Circus" in 1931, but a reader today cannot help but be filled with dread knowing what awaits.
Much of the novel consists of direct speech, but there are some striking passages of description, a farmer's children, for example, are 'silent dwarves with frightening hands' and parenthesis is cuttingly deployed in the following: 'The little newspaper magnate of Pomerania, as his friends - he has none - call him.'. The translation itself seemed quite idiosyncratic, with frequent occurrence of words such as 'jounce', 'squinny' and 'a rickets' (i.e. a mess). Not knowing German, I'm not sure if this gives a good impression of Fallada's style or not, but I enjoyed it.
This new translation comes with a cast of characters (enjoyably described by the translator), some notes (irritatingly not indicated in the text itself) and a very good foreward by Jenny Williams.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Small circus
This is not the first book by falada I have read but it is a thoroughly good book. recommended for anyone who like a good read. Delivery by Kindle easy and fast as usual.
Published 1 month ago by SteveJ
The omniscient reader
Do you know that trick writers sometimes use, where readers know that a major catastrophe is coming when the characters don't? Read more
Published 1 month ago by MisterHobgoblin
A Small Circus
Other reviewers have given the synopsis so I won't repeat it here. Not as compelling as "Alone In Berlin". Read more
Published 1 month ago by P Lister
A Classic of the 20th Century
Like many, I discovered Hans Fallada through "Alone In Berlin", which is, for me, a masterpiece of storytelling, and something I will always have in my top ten reads. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Graeme Stewart
Powerful Insight on why the Weimar Republic Failed
This is a translation of the 1931 book by Rudolf Ditzen, who wrote under the pseudonym of Hans Fallada. He uses a small fictional town called Altholm as his vehicle. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Tommy D
Excellent dialogue driven story, that feels genuine
This is an excellent book that is a pleasure to read. There is no central character but several, well developed, characters and their dialogue and actions seem incredibly... Read more
Published 1 month ago by J. R. Atkinson
too much dialogue - confusing
I have enjoyed reading other Hans Fallada books such as What now Little man? and Wolf among wolves but I struggled with this. Read more
Published 2 months ago by light
No clowns in this circus
To understand this book fully one needs to be aware of some of Hans Fallada's other work and of the period when he was writing. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Michael Ward
Brilliant
Poignant, moving, compelling and beautifully written (hats off to the translator) I was amazed that I hadn't heard of Hans Fallada before. I'll be seeking out his other works.
Published 2 months ago by Black Mask
Well, I tried!
I began with 'Alone in Berlin', then moved on to 'Little Man what now?' and now to this: 'A Small Circus'. Sadly, Alone... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Peter Gordon
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
