Reviews and Comments

on the first stage this is a satire of the public life and especially the livings of the 'content creators' in the year 1928 in Paris e.g. all over the world. written in a fast elliptical language of the great city with the tools and wording of the expressionism.

on the back stage Mehring dissolves all the grotesques in the lawful tides of capitalism. and because of his kind of (media) analysis he ends with a modern twist: you can't differentiate in the capitalist state between a revolution (or at least a riot) and the next Hollywood production.

so if you are interested in a seemingly outdated books which surprises you ...

first: how cool is this, people like your 'status' to start reading Good Omens! second: already after the first dialogue it seems impossible, not to hear Tennant and Sheen talking to each other (but that's fine)

just started. it's odd, but my reaction to the beginning is that of joy and contentment, similar to the first read of ruff's fool on the hill.

one more of these novels and i have to see this 'Manchester' by myself

it is still a funny series, something between satire and mystery novel. as it happens in series, this time you learn quite a lot of background of two of the main characters... and there is still more to learn and of course a cliffhanger in the end

i really enjoyed the read. i think, the book is in almost every aspect able to walk a middleroad between epic theatre and a "real" novel und it's story. the world building is just a sidestep away from the real events and the world in the mid 19th century. i did not read it as a fantasy novel with a smart magic system, but rather a historic novel in a setting auch style of magic realism. all the characters are clearly models of a specific world view and situation, but at least in my experience of the book, they are also able to induce sentiment. if you would ask me, it is the same effect, Eco and Brecht would likely achieve.

the lone survivor of a black space mission tries to save his former enemies from destruction. in the process, to ensure lasting peace and wellfare he develops a ever higher consciousness.

the start wasn't promising at all. the reader stumbled together with the hero of the book from one scene to another by hard cuts. i was worrying, is it bad story telling or some kind of broad allegory? but when the first plot elements become recognisable, i learned to like this book a lot. the philosophical premise and thoughts woven into the rather plain story have a unique effect. (it's like one of the good written dr. who episodes, if i have to compare it.)

i really wanted to like this one. the topics are important, the messages, as far as i could grab, right.

but the art of telling the tale... until the end of the first part everthing was fine: the characters, the development of the story. the second part started the build up with new characters and arc anew, but in lesser time, and the third rushed the same process even more. and the grand scheme in the background didn't deepen with the new parts, but lost every time some of it's aspects to get a conclusion.

this book is like these kinds of enjoyable b-movies

Firth tries to sell hiking in Derbyshire -- which is, i'm pretty sure, an experience. but seldom he got the strength to focus on his subject. more often he rants about insignificant monuments, ugly new(er) buildings -- this book is from the 1920s -- and bad poetry. yes! because, like every good teacher in local history, he manages to cite obscure poets about some rocks or creeks. and has tons of anecdotes about mary queen of scots and dr. johnson, who happen to be there in this region also.

it's a fun. and the picture are really cool.

i really liked this one. it's a mixture of really funny stretches (some kind of self-escalating situations), of -to be honest- quite conservative commenting on human and society of its time, bound together by the story of a youth and his fostering uncle. i think, it has the warmth and tone of Guareschi, which pleased me most. and you can feel the inner struggle, not to be romantic and ironic and in the same time being exactly that. i wonder, what took me so long to find Topffer.

it's a fun and easy read: lot's of charming characters --maybe you have to read the first volume though-- in strange situations. a cool mystery story with an ending, which opens this world wider to the next book. and a little bit of satire tossed in.

again, as the second of the series, it is a solid mystery of a special brand. and because it is also a well-known classic i only want to add, how easy you can miss out the bleak and noir depiction of us society in the sixties. not in the mention of deep distrust in the police force, in the side plot to the civil rights, but how the need to profit wrecks both personal morals and eventually society's will to perfom justness