Written in 1935, Mr. Norris Changes Trains and Goodbye to Berlin comprise The Berlin Stories and follow a young man who moves to Berlin from England in the early 1930s for a little adventure. He is a teacher and makes his living by tutoring children and, occasionally, translating manuscripts and documents for the Communist party. He is self-focused in that he sees those around him in a sort of artificial light that he has created. Goodreads notes of Isherwood that, “In 1930, he moved to Berlin, where he taught English, dabbled in Communism, and enthusiastically explored his homosexuality.” This story also provides some of the historical context for the musical Cabaret. So, with that context:
Mr. Norris Changes Trains. This is an interesting story of taking off your rose-colored glasses and starting to see reality. Mr. Norris becomes quite harsh with his reversal of opinion. Interestingly, author Christopher Isherwood seems to have had parallel view of the novel he created. He later wrote: “What repels me now about Mr Norris is its heartlessness. It is a heartless fairy-story about a real city in which human beings were suffering the miseries of political violence and near-starvation. The “wickedness” of Berlin’s night-life was of the most pitiful kind; the kisses and embraces, as always, had price-tags attached to them, but here the prices were drastically reduced in the cut-throat competition of an over-crowded market. … As for the “monsters”, they were quite ordinary human beings prosiacally engaged in getting their living through illegal methods. The only genuine monster was the young foreigner who passed gaily through these scenes of desolation, misinterpreting them to suit his childish fantasy.” I disagree: his later description was reflected in the book, though perhaps not in an obvious way.
Mr. Norris was a weak, manipulative, scheming man who had a certain ability to charm people. The narrator, William Bradshaw, was a naïve, judgmental, eager young man who jumped into things before he really understood them – or even realized that there was something under the surface that he wasn’t getting. The other characters in the book were troubled, quirky, poor, lonely people trying to get by in a complicated and changing world. They had weaknesses, but came together as sort of a rag-tag team – not quite a family, not quite trusting each other but needing each other just the same. There were some nasty characters in the mix. There was also the tension of the rise of the Nazi party and the changes in Berlin and the despicable abuse of those who lived on the fringes.
Perhaps because the book was somewhat autobiographical, Isherwood experienced the continued growth of the character in his book and he was expressing that disappointment we sometimes feel in ourselves – that we should have known better or been braver or taken more risks. What I found fascinating about both the book and Isherwood’s later comments is the importance of what an author and reader bring to the table. Had I read this when I was younger, I may have seen that superficial story that older-Isherwood rails against. But, as a reader with life experience (and the compassion, understanding and openness that hopefully comes with it), I saw the miseries he describes and the frailty of the characters and the blasé nature of the young narrator. Was it on the page or did I add that interpretation or was it a bit of both?
Goodbye to Berlin is a collection of somewhat odd characters who are living in challenging times. This book takes place at around the same time point as Mr. Norris Changes Trains (early 1930s) as the Nazis come into power. There is a sad poignancy reading this after knowing what probably happens not only to the Jewish family in the story, but also to the collection of outcasts, artists and intellectuals. The unique characters who entertained others, sought to find a place to fit in society, and endured challenges over the course of the story have become friends and neighbors … and they were in danger. The growing violence, callousness, apathy, and fear changes Berlin from a place where anything can happen to a place where only proscribed activities and specific people are allowed.
The title references not only Isherwood’s departure from a city to which he feels a strong connection, but also the disappearance of the unique Berlin that existed before the Nazis changed it forever. Given that it was written in 1939, it has a bit more perspective on the growing Nazi threat than the first book, which was written in 1935. Like Mr Norris Changes Trains, this book has some very funny parts, balanced with insightful and interesting explorations of people. There are also a lot of sad or lost characters – searching for something. I think these books require the reader to bring something to the table, otherwise they might not hang together. I thought a lot while I was reading these books, so I’m not really sure what is on the page and what was in my head – but either way, it was a great combination!
