Scan barcode
sisteray's review
4.0
Because Lutes wants to cover so much material, I feel that this book isn't quite as punchy as the first one. But, it is still an excellent piece and a fabulous follow up to the previous work. Lots of great on-the-ground day to day history. Everything is personal and human. A people's take on the fall of the Wiemar Republic.
The art is stunning as usual.
I can't wait to see how everything plays out with our characters, but who knows when that will be, this came out 4 years ago...
The art is stunning as usual.
I can't wait to see how everything plays out with our characters, but who knows when that will be, this came out 4 years ago...
jordyshore's review
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
clellman's review
Read (/looked at--it's a graphic novel) this quickly and not that carefully.
nickfourtimes's review
5.0
1) "'Yeeah!'
'It's not my fault!'
'You killed her!'
'Shut up! It wasn't me. I'll show you who it was. [...] Look out there. LOOK! that's who done it. That's who killed y'r mother. The police, Silvia. They're not here t'protect us. They're here t'keep us workers in line... t'keep us poor an' tired... an' t'kill us if we try t'change that. An' they shot y'r mum because she wanted things different, un'erstand? They shot y'r mum because she wanted a better life f'r you, an' Elga, an' y'r little brother."
2) "'Well, our man in the Schupo says the paperwork confirms their claim that they never intended to let the demonstration occur at all.'
'So, either the police lied to the Communist leaders, or those leaders lied to the demonstrators. Which do you prefer?'
'Neither– But look, there's something else, something that troubles me more.'
'My summons to Leipzig.'
'Yes! What's it for?'
'Our article on the nascent air force has upset a few people, it seems.'
'But... On what grounds can they call you to a federal court?'
'Can't you guess? What's the last legal resort of a faltering state faced with evidence of its hypocrisy?'
'...'
'I'm being charged with treason.'"
3) "'It's the air, my dear– the famous Berlinerluft! You've lived here nearly a year now– surely you've felt it before.'
'I suppose so... Kurt and I have stayed up all night together on more than one occasion, but I just assumed–'
'Of course, of course: 'love.' An assumption I've made myself, on more than one occasion in the past. And even with the very same man!'
'So you no longer believe in love?'
'...I believe that people believe in love.'"
4) "'I'm afraid I'm not very good company these days. So– Help out a despairing pacifist. What is this 'other way' of seeing things?'
'Well... It's more, just... a comfort. Just think... The trees, the grass, the water, all of this beauty and life– The changing of the seasons, year after year, since long before we were born... No matter what happens to us, all of it will still be here long after we're gone.'"
5) "I feel ill. And I am not alone. When I see anyone else these days at the Romanisches, there is the usual spirited talk, but the words are thin, the faces pale. Even more than usual, we appear to subsist on coffee and cigarettes. Cups rattle in saucers, a statement delivered with a little more than the requisite passion collapses into a hacking cough. We know the routine, touch on the usual subjects, undercut our deepest hopes with reflexive cynicism. I derive little comfort from any of it. The world outside is filled with different sorts of words. Thanks to the emergency election, the rhetoric has come in thick, like smoke downwind of a burning building. The air is consumed by chanted slogans and playground songs, the sky held aloft by walls of words. Walking home, I see a copy of the paper disintegrating in the runoff from autumn's first rain. The letters slip away, one by one. And I sit here typing more of them; swimming against the tide."
'It's not my fault!'
'You killed her!'
'Shut up! It wasn't me. I'll show you who it was. [...] Look out there. LOOK! that's who done it. That's who killed y'r mother. The police, Silvia. They're not here t'protect us. They're here t'keep us workers in line... t'keep us poor an' tired... an' t'kill us if we try t'change that. An' they shot y'r mum because she wanted things different, un'erstand? They shot y'r mum because she wanted a better life f'r you, an' Elga, an' y'r little brother."
2) "'Well, our man in the Schupo says the paperwork confirms their claim that they never intended to let the demonstration occur at all.'
'So, either the police lied to the Communist leaders, or those leaders lied to the demonstrators. Which do you prefer?'
'Neither– But look, there's something else, something that troubles me more.'
'My summons to Leipzig.'
'Yes! What's it for?'
'Our article on the nascent air force has upset a few people, it seems.'
'But... On what grounds can they call you to a federal court?'
'Can't you guess? What's the last legal resort of a faltering state faced with evidence of its hypocrisy?'
'...'
'I'm being charged with treason.'"
3) "'It's the air, my dear– the famous Berlinerluft! You've lived here nearly a year now– surely you've felt it before.'
'I suppose so... Kurt and I have stayed up all night together on more than one occasion, but I just assumed–'
'Of course, of course: 'love.' An assumption I've made myself, on more than one occasion in the past. And even with the very same man!'
'So you no longer believe in love?'
'...I believe that people believe in love.'"
4) "'I'm afraid I'm not very good company these days. So– Help out a despairing pacifist. What is this 'other way' of seeing things?'
'Well... It's more, just... a comfort. Just think... The trees, the grass, the water, all of this beauty and life– The changing of the seasons, year after year, since long before we were born... No matter what happens to us, all of it will still be here long after we're gone.'"
5) "I feel ill. And I am not alone. When I see anyone else these days at the Romanisches, there is the usual spirited talk, but the words are thin, the faces pale. Even more than usual, we appear to subsist on coffee and cigarettes. Cups rattle in saucers, a statement delivered with a little more than the requisite passion collapses into a hacking cough. We know the routine, touch on the usual subjects, undercut our deepest hopes with reflexive cynicism. I derive little comfort from any of it. The world outside is filled with different sorts of words. Thanks to the emergency election, the rhetoric has come in thick, like smoke downwind of a burning building. The air is consumed by chanted slogans and playground songs, the sky held aloft by walls of words. Walking home, I see a copy of the paper disintegrating in the runoff from autumn's first rain. The letters slip away, one by one. And I sit here typing more of them; swimming against the tide."
crabbygirl's review
4.0
great series of pre-war berlin. with the backdrop of so much unease - between the communists and nationalists, between the gentiles and the Jews - people reach out for any and all distractions: the arrival of jazz music, lesbian nightclubs, orgies & drugs. Lutes' third, and last book, is out of print and no where to be found. i am distraught.
jasihay's review
5.0
A bit denser than the first book, but I still got through this one in a single sitting! Would highly recommend for anyone interested in history. I went to Berlin in the spring of 2017 and these books have really changed how I view this monumental city.
mispaintedlady's review
5.0
I read volume one awhile ago, and I was happy that I didn't need to re read volume one, as I was very excited to read the second volume. The author is really able to capture the Weimar Republic in detail. From the decadent, creative and liberal underground to the political tension that led to the Nazis taking over as the dominant political party.
As always, reading books about the weimar, republic I feel especially sad as you know the fate of many of the characters. Jason Lutes really is able to get you to be attached to them as well.
As always, reading books about the weimar, republic I feel especially sad as you know the fate of many of the characters. Jason Lutes really is able to get you to be attached to them as well.
lucia_28's review
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
maddiedb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nwhyte's review
http://nhw.livejournal.com/1141377.html[return][return]I really enjoyed the first volume of this series, and I really enjoyed this one as well. Covering the period from June 1929 to September 1930, it doesn't have the same narrative climax (May Day 1929) as the previous book, but it does have a strong set of internal plot arcs. Marthe and Kurt delve deeper into the heart of what makes the city tick, but at the cost of their own relationship; Kid Hogan, an African American jazz clarinettist, finds love and corruption in the city's music halls; and the marginalised, the exploited, the Jews, the Communists, the unemployed, all have their stories at least illuminated if not necessarily told. I'm only sorry that, first, we will presumably have to wait another four years for the next and final volume, and second, that it will presumably only take us to the Nazi seizure of power. But this is strongly recommended.