A review by ursy
After Midnight by Irmgard Keun

4.0

This is a fascinating text, and one which rightfully deserves its place on my university syllabus. The deductions of the main character, Susanne, about her social and political world combine a feel of empirical observation with genuinely moving emotional engagement. Admittedly, Susanne's inner monologue about her own appearance becomes, at times, a little wearing, but this seems a deliberate choice on Keun's part to write a realistic young protagonist attempting to separate herself, with superficial concerns, from the terrifying world of increasing evil in which she lives. A clever text, layered with irony, and far more multi-faceted in tone than the first read, or even the second, might hint at.