Historically important German novel from the 1920s. Hermann, a lonely office clerk, falls in love from afar with Gunther, a teenage hustler. Their story does not end happily, though it's not tragic, either. Hermann's feelings aren't really love as much as, as Natalia Landauer puts it in Cabaret, an infatuation of the body, and his feelings never grow beyond that. Gunther is a lost little boy who is treated badly by everyone around him, even (perhaps especially) by his so-called friends, and it's frustrating not to feel more sympathy for him, given his total lack of interest in anything at all, even sex, and the bad behavioral choices he constantly makes.Hermann isn't much more interesting. His obsession with Gunther, who for most of the book treats Hermann as badly as he is treated by those around him, is inexplicable. Though we get inside Hermann's head, he never comes off as a fully thought-out character. The real reason to stick with the book is the glimpse we get into the lives of these young prostitutes--the scenes in the middle which show Gunther interacting with his fellow hustlers really come alive. Don't pick this up as porn--there are no descriptions of sex, aside from some cuddling and kissing--and there is only rarely any real erotic frisson present.
