This is one of my favorite books. My uncle gave me a copy when I was in high school, and I have re-read it every couple years, ever since.Isherwood is better known for Berlin Stories, a semi-autobiographical work on pre-Nazi Germany which became the basis for Cabaret.Prater Violet is a semi-autobiographical account of the young Isherwood was hired to write the screenplay for a relentlessly fluffy Ruritanian musical comedy, Prater Violet, to be shot in London in 1934.The director, Friedrich Bergmann, is a Jewish intellectual who has left his family back in Austria. Upon first meeting Isherwood, Bergmann remarks, "I am sure we shall be very happy together. You know, already, I feel absolutely no shame before you. We are like two married men who meet in a whorehouse."Prater Violet, the novel, is largely a character study of Bergmann, who sees both the tragedy and absurdity of his situation, pouring his energy into a ridiculous comedy while danger looms over his family and the world. It is also, quite genuinely, a hilarious backstage comedy about filmmaking, so the movie within the book and the book itself are perfect reflections of each other. The character sketches are dead-on, and the prose is marvelous.If that was all the book was, I would have liked it a lot. But it's more than that. I'll put what made me fall in love with it, and makes it endlessly re-readable, behind a cut. It's not a plot twist in any conventional sense, but it did surprise me. I'd love to keep it a surprise, to allow you to discover it for yourself.Since I know what you're all thinking: nobody in the book dies in the Holocaust, or dies at all. It's surprising more for stylistic and thematic reasons.(view spoiler)[All through the book, we learn a great deal about Bergmann, but less of Isherwood. He turns his observant eye on others, but not himself. (An early line in Berlin Stories is "I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking.")In the very last pages of the book, Isherwood lets us catch a glimpse of his life, his self, his soul, and what his relationship with Bergmann really means to him. After an entire book skating over bright surfaces striped with dark shadows, it's like a sudden plunge into deep waters, startling and revelatory and beautiful.The last page returns to the original tone, sparkling and funny and understated. But now we know what was beneath-- what is always beneath all our surface interactions and appearances and silly projects and casual chat. The actual text is a letter from a friend, about how much audiences are enjoying Prater Violet and snubbing a politically superior and very serious indeed Soviet movie about the proletariat.The very last line informs us that Bergmann moved to America with his family. The implication is that the success of Prater Violet got him a Hollywood job and so enabled him and his family to escape the Holocaust. The silly comedy that Bergmann reluctantly poured his creative energies into didn't turn out to be a great work of art. But it did save lives.Those last few pages, together with the rest of the book, suggests to me that the frustratingly absurd, shallow, everyday work and interactions are also necessary and important. Though Bergmann and Isherwood discuss serious things, their relationship is built not only on that, but on sharing the absurdities of Hollywood and writing their fluffy movie. Similarly, the sparkling body of the book is what makes the depth of the climax work. (hide spoiler)]
First Line: “Mr. Isherwood?”Yes, the protagonist of this book is Mr. Isherwood himself. Quite unusual, but also quite brilliant. The story takes place in London just before WWII, where Isherwood is working on a screenplay with Friedrich Bergmann. We follow the writing process and part of the movie production of "Prater Violet" – probably inspired of Isherwood’s (i.e. the real Isherwood) own experience as a screenwriter in the 1930s.The story is also about the friendship between Isherwood and Bergmann. Their relationship was very amusing to follow. What a character we have in Bergmann! Just take a look at what Bergmann utters after meeting Isherwood for the first time:I am sure we shall be very happy together. You know, already, I feel absolutely no shame before you. We are like two married men who meet in a whorehouse.I LOVE Isherwood’s writing! To me, he’s one of the best. And I always love his description of the 1930s and 40s. He knows how to create a interesting setting about to be destroyed by the Nazis lurking in the background. Take another look at what he says about the Nazis (again, speaking through Bergmann):That is how they wish you to imagine them, as unconquerable monsters. But they are human, very human, in their weakness. We must not fear them. We must understand them. It is absolutely necessary to understand them, or we are all lost.Isherwood is a true master of setting, tone, characters and writing. His characters are always so real. And amusing. One of the things that really cracked me up was his description of himself as a fictional character: An arrogant, whiny, lazy little prat. But we love him for his honesty. And aren’t we all whiny, lazy and arrogant from time to time? And don’t we all know this feeling:I was feeling temperamental and sulky that day, chiefly because I had a bad cold. My conscience had driven me to Bergmann’s flat, and I felt that my sacrifice wasn’t being properly appreciated. I had expected to be fussed over and sent home again.That one made me laugh! So all in all, Prater Violet was an entertaining and unusual little story. But I’m still glad it was only 122 pages. I think I would have tired of the story had it been longer.For more reviews, visit my blog The Bookworm's Closet - a blog about fashion and literature.
What do You think about Prater Violet (2001)?
The main character, Christopher Isherwood himself, is hired to write the script for a film named Prater Violet, and befriends the director, Friedrich Bergmann.The book is a casual story with irregular pace. The speed of narration reflects obstacles in the process of creating the film, while touching the issues of social class, Nazism, collective responsibility, and the approaching war. Although Isherwood is the leading character, he is careful not to reveal too much about his personal life, and especially his love life, which he describes only through a set of hints.
—Patrik
"He had already ordered champagne. 'Never drink anything else before sunset.' There was a little place in Soho, he informed us, where he kept his own claret. 'Picked up six dozen at an auction last week. I bet my butler I'd find him something better than we had in the cellar. The blighter's so damned superior, but he had to admit I was right. Made him pay up, too.'" (17)From this single snippet of dialog, we know so much about the pompous director, Chatsworth. He considers himself decadent and aristocratic (the champagne), but he undercuts this with his story about the claret. What kind of person bets their own butler they can do his job better than he can, then goes out and does it? He survives on forceful decision, fast action, and doing things himself. Chatsworth is the ultimate bourgeois: he is anxious about his butler's "superiority" - which is to say, his knowledge and ability in his job. A true gentleman would gain from the superiority of his staff. Chatsworth feels his mastery and control threatened, he cannot fully delegate. This is a bad sign: I think he is the film's producer, and a producer's job consists of delegating. Isherwood's dialog is fantastic. So much more natural than this line from the following paragraph: "Chatsworth ate leisurely, but with great decision, pausing after each mouthful to make a new pronouncement."
—Eddie
I was going to give it 3 stars, but I kind of really loved like the last 10 pages or so, so it's a 3.5 now. And that's a lot, considering I'm not into short novels, truth to be told.I read this just because the other day I ended up watching Christopher and His Kind (this BBC film, you know) just cause I love Matt Smith. And after that I just needed to read something written by Mr. Isherwood (although I couldn't find that book).The film industry, what was happening in Vienna... It was an interesting mix.
—Eva Mandy
