The Artificial Silk Girl has 1,052 ratings and 112 reviews. Jim said: I am sure that I will read this book again. In fact, I will probably buy a copy.h.

1. The Artificial Silk Girl Wiki

In 1931, a young woman writer living in Germany was inspired by Anita Loos's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes to describe pre-war Berlin and the age of cinematic glamour through the eyes of a woman. The resulting novel, The Artificial Silk Girl, became an acclaimed bestseller and a masterwork of German literature, in the tradition of Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories and Bert In 1931, a young woman writer living in Germany was inspired by Anita Loos's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes to describe pre-war Berlin and the age of cinematic glamour through the eyes of a woman. The resulting novel, The Artificial Silk Girl, became an acclaimed bestseller and a masterwork of German literature, in the tradition of Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories and Bertolt Brecht's Three Penny Opera. Like Isherwood and Brecht, Keun revealed the dark underside of Berlin's 'golden twenties' with empathy and honesty. Unfortunately, a Nazi censorship board banned Keun's work in 1933 and destroyed all existing copies of The Artificial Silk Girl. Only one English translation was published, in Great Britain, before the book disappeared in the chaos of the ensuing war.

Today, more than seven decades later, the story of this quintessential 'material girl' remains as relevant as ever, as an accessible new translation brings this lost classic to light once more. Other Press is pleased to announce the republication of The Artificial Silk Girl, elegantly translated by noted Germanist Kathie von Ankum, and with a new introduction by Harvard professor Maria Tatar. I am sure that I will read this book again. In fact, I will probably buy a copy.hopefully some entity like Folio Society will publish this gem! Written in the 1930s, this book could only have been published in Europe, North American social mores and sexual repression being what they were. Some of the thoughts expressed herein concern frank and open (but not specific) sexuality, particularly from the female viewpoint.

Female desire and sexual fulfillment.who knew such things existed! So the b I am sure that I will read this book again. In fact, I will probably buy a copy.hopefully some entity like Folio Society will publish this gem! Written in the 1930s, this book could only have been published in Europe, North American social mores and sexual repression being what they were. Some of the thoughts expressed herein concern frank and open (but not specific) sexuality, particularly from the female viewpoint. Female desire and sexual fulfillment.who knew such things existed! So the book was published in Germany and was very popular for a couple of years until it was banned by the Nutzies.

Thereafter it was a regular feature at German street bonfires. It seems that the fascists were opposed to sex and also took issue with the protagonist's mild criticism of the state of affairs prevalent in Germany at that time. This book is presented as the rambling monologue or memoir of a girl who has assumed the name of Doris.

There is little likable about her: she is a thief, a liar, and she'll screw you for a sandwich. She uses men to get by as she pursues her dream of becoming a star. A dream that, the reader realizes, is unlikely to come to fruition. In spite of all that, it is impossible to dislike Doris.

There is something a little off about her.unhinged.maybe mentally challenged. I couldn't put my finger on the reason for this exactly, but while reading it I was constantly thinking of Sylvia Plath and Louise Brooks' Lulu from Pandora's Box. She is instinctive but not overly bright, making her way through decadent and impoverished Berlin as best she can. I couldn't help but root for her, a sad and lonely underdog merely wanting to be noticed.

Eventually she gets a chance at love, but you'll have to read the book to see how that turns out. I don't know why Keun is not more widely known: every page was a delight to read, and Doris is a poet and philosopher without knowing it.hell, without even knowing what it means. I'll leave you with a favourite quote (there are Many): So they have courses teaching you foreign languages and ballroom dancing and etiquette and cooking. But there are no classes to learn how to be by yourself in a furnished room with chipped dishes, or how to be alone in general without any words of concern or familiar sounds. I only recently came across this book when I became aware that an acquaintance of mine required it for a class he teaches on the Weimar Republic. It is a remarkable book. The narrator, Doris, is a working class girl and a bit of a ditz who narrates her story and describes her surroundings in a way that appears shallow and laughable even as it reveals both insight and folksy wisdom.

Doris has stolen a fur coat and finds herself alone in Berlin just trying to get. That means that she mostly moo I only recently came across this book when I became aware that an acquaintance of mine required it for a class he teaches on the Weimar Republic. It is a remarkable book. The narrator, Doris, is a working class girl and a bit of a ditz who narrates her story and describes her surroundings in a way that appears shallow and laughable even as it reveals both insight and folksy wisdom. Doris has stolen a fur coat and finds herself alone in Berlin just trying to get. That means that she mostly mooches off men, whom see invariably sees through: “If you want to strike it lucky with men, you have to let them think you’re stupid” (60). Through Doris’s camera-like observations, we begin to get a picture of the decadent, sometimes cruel society around her and even glimpse the political currents swirling about, currents that leave Doris for the most part baffled.

For example, a man asks Doris if she is a Jew, and thinking he hopes for a positive response, she says, “Yes.” He then drops her, which leaves her entirely baffled: “After all, a man should know in advance whether he likes a woman or not. At first they pay you all sorts of compliments and are drooling all over you—then you tell them: I’m a chestnut!—and their chin drops: oh, you’re a chestnut—yuk, I had no idea. And you are exactly the way you were before, but just one word has supposedly changed you” (38). The German novelist Irmgard Keun was a major talent.

It’s too bad she is not better known. Why is this hailed as a window to pre-Nazi Berlin when the narrator's observations are not especially insightful, about her environs or about the times in general? Why is this hailed as feminist literature when Doris defines herself in terms of how desirable she is to men and chooses to remain blithely ignorant of the world around her unless it involves increasing her desirability and odds of finding a man to take care of her?

There is validity in the comparisons to 'Sex and the City' and 'Bridg Why is this hailed as a window to pre-Nazi Berlin when the narrator's observations are not especially insightful, about her environs or about the times in general? Why is this hailed as feminist literature when Doris defines herself in terms of how desirable she is to men and chooses to remain blithely ignorant of the world around her unless it involves increasing her desirability and odds of finding a man to take care of her? There is validity in the comparisons to 'Sex and the City' and 'Bridget Jones's Diary' and in deeming Doris 'the original material girl,' but that's not necessarily a good thing, and it certainly doesn't make for an interesting novel. Doris is a shallow, judgmental, petty girl whose ambition is to become famous and wear fabulous clothing and be surrounded by the best of all consumer goods despite lacking the intelligence, skills, or work ethic that would merit such rewards on her own. She is not particularly clever or witty. She is proud of the fact that she lacks interest in politics or social affairs but is crafty and manipulative and tends to land on her feet because she knows how to stretch the truth (or lie) to get what she wants and is attractive enough to appeal to men's baser instincts. Her downward spiral is the result of the theft of a fur coat, and hanging on to that stolen coat is the primary motivation for a series of bad decisions she makes.

I don't find that a particularly sympathetic plight. I have no problem with stream of consciousness or faked memoirs that ramble and give half-thoughts in an attempt to seem realistic, but the writing is often incoherent and confusing. This edition is riddled with disgraceful typos that render things even more tricky to follow. (There are a lot of opening quotation marks with no closing quotation marks, so it is difficult to know when there has been a change in the speaker of dialogue.) I'm not sorry I read the book, but I can't say I enjoyed it. I am relieved, though, that it was a fast read and that I had checked it out from the library rather than purchased it. Tilli says: 'Men are nothing but sensual and they only want one thing.' But I say: 'Tilli, sometimes women too are sensual and want only one thing.'

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And there's no difference. Because sometimes I only want to wake up with someone in the morning, all messed up from kissing and half dead and without any energy to think, but wonderfully tires and rested at the same time. But you don't have to give a hoot otherwise.

And there's nothing wrong with it, because both have the same feeling and want the Tilli says: 'Men are nothing but sensual and they only want one thing.' But I say: 'Tilli, sometimes women too are sensual and want only one thing.' And there's no difference. Because sometimes I only want to wake up with someone in the morning, all messed up from kissing and half dead and without any energy to think, but wonderfully tires and rested at the same time. But you don't have to give a hoot otherwise. And there's nothing wrong with it, because both have the same feeling and want the same thing from the other. I hope I can express my fondness for this book so that people will actually go to find it at a bookstore or library, and read it.

It was published in Germany in 1933. Shortly thereafter, the Nazis banned Keun's work and destroyed all remaining copies. Fortunately, a British translation survived and Other Press has chosen wisely chosen to republish it. After all, Keun was a contemporary of Alfred Doblin who encouraged her to write. Thus, we have a story of a young woman who moves from a small German town to Berlin to lake it as a an actress only to encounter homeless, poverty and bouts with prostitution. Now there's a summer read. Translated to perfection by Kathie von Ankum, this is a novel worth reading and savoring for Keun's uncanny ability with description and to portray a woman, whether likable or not, by what she sees and does without a moment of self-pity.

Written in some way similar to a mock memoir, The Artificial Silk Girl gives a first -person account of Doris, a young German woman using her looks and charm to succeed. She makes no excuses and shows no regret. There's something so utterly captivating about a woman who knows what she is, how she is perceived but doesn't care what others think of her.

She isn't afraid to use manipulation or deceit, but it is never without warrant. Rather she uses it as a reaction to the pretentious or dishonest behavior of other people. Doris is not very educated nor socially savvy, and although her cynicism is often hilarious, Keun makes her seem good at heart in a touching way that avoids being mawkish. The voice is so well-developed that I could understand how, in Germany at that time, it would have become a bestseller and in turn create a scandal with its blunt honesty.

What I found interesting and cloying is that in the introduction by Harvard professor Maria Tatar, which overall is excellent, is that she uses The Artificial Silk Girl as a precursor to Bridget Jones' Diary and Sex and the City. As if sex and female independence are the currency used in all eras of feminism and The Artificial Silk Girl is merely an early form of chick lit. I understand perhaps the inclination to couch it that way to the modern reader, but I cringed when I read this because Keun's work is unique in voice and it's original appearance was a form of political, historical and gender resistance whereas Bridget Jones and Sex and the City seem more like a reflection of the current times. I am obviously not a Harvard professor so forgive if my ignorance is showing, but I couldn't help but think of Lynn Freed's The Mirror or even the works of Jean Rhys as a more appropriate parallel with their bleakness and female characters beyond redemption. When the novel opens, Doris is working in a lawyer's office as a secretary.

From the opening pages, Keun's gift for description is unmistakeable: And for every comma that's missing, I have to five that old beanstalk of an attorney - he hasp pimples too, and his skin looks like my old yellow leather purse without a zipper. Or later when she describes a woman in a cafe who's '.not all that young anymore and has boobs like a swimming belt.' Doris knows she is about to be fired and pulls out every trick of sensuality she has, but in the end, she gets fired.

Doris has a softness with certain people that saves her from being harsh. She has Therese from the office, Tilli with whom she shares an apartment with in Berlin and Herr Brenner, the blind man she offers sex to because she gets to use her eyes to describe the world to him: 'I saw - men standing at the corners selling perfume, without a coat and a pert face and a gray cap on - and posters with naked and rosy girls on them and nobody looking at them - a restaurant with more chrome than an operating room - they even have oysters there - and famous photographers with photos in showcases displaying enormous people without any beauty. And sometimes with.'

Again, later, when she is describing the scene at a Russian Restaurant in Berlin for Herr Brenner: '.a handsome man just kissed a woman as a fat as a tadpole - old men are kissing each other - the music goes one-two, one-two - there are lamps hanging from the ceiling that look like Paul's starfish collection stuck together - the music is covered with flowers like a chiffon dress which tears very easily - let me tell you, Herr Brenner, a woman should never wear artificial silk when she's with a man. It wrinkles too quickly, and what are you going to look like after seven real kisses? Only pure silk, I say - and music -' Doris' demise is miserable but in the end there is an overwhelming and welcome sense of hope for her future. Even though Doris may have facets that are materialistic, vain and shallow, Keun also created a woman of depth which manifests through Doris' cinematic view of the world and her empathy for humanity. The back of the book makes a comparison to Christopher Isherwood, (I can only imagine it must be The Berlin Stories) which is much more apt than a somewhat dismissive designation to chick lit. If you need a read that is both intelligent, honest, entertaining and original, please read The Artificial Silk Girl.

It's the presence so needed of female writer's of the past who dared to talk of sex and independence at a time when it wasn't accepted by society as easily as a Sex and the City sequel. A classic of feminist lit, from 1931 Germany!! About a strong - if young party-hard, bad decision making - woman who's just trying to get over (thanks every day Curtis Mayfield), and does, for the most part. Sure she has to lie some, fake organisms, cadge drinks, lift the occasional haute couture (sp?) item, work at crummy jobs for low pay, freeze her ass off in shitty apartments, have pretty bad hangovers, dance till her feet ache, hide from nazis, etc etc. All in the day of a young woman any a classic of feminist lit, from 1931 Germany!!

About a strong - if young party-hard, bad decision making - woman who's just trying to get over (thanks every day Curtis Mayfield), and does, for the most part. Sure she has to lie some, fake organisms, cadge drinks, lift the occasional haute couture (sp?) item, work at crummy jobs for low pay, freeze her ass off in shitty apartments, have pretty bad hangovers, dance till her feet ache, hide from nazis, etc etc.

All in the day of a young woman anywhere really and i guess that's what makes this novel so good; slangy, fast moving inner and inter dialog, very nice descriptions of place, food, fashion in Berlin, and beautiful examples of a modern woman in a not-so-modern world. Oops i forgot to mention too that Keun and Joseph Roth were an item for a while in the late '30's.

You don't know how much hope and warm fuzzy that gives me. Oh darn, HOW do you paste pics? I hadn't heard of Keun until I picked this up for $5 at the Co-Op bookshop. The novel provides a fascinating snapshot of what life was like for a working girl in 1930s Berlin, but the best part about it is Keun's dry wit and incisive commentary on every page. Some examples: 'a subway is like an illuminated coffin on skis.'

'That's what's important: how you react to someone while they're sleeping and not exerting any influence over you.' 'If you want to strike it lucky with men, you have to let the I hadn't heard of Keun until I picked this up for $5 at the Co-Op bookshop. The novel provides a fascinating snapshot of what life was like for a working girl in 1930s Berlin, but the best part about it is Keun's dry wit and incisive commentary on every page. Some examples: 'a subway is like an illuminated coffin on skis.' 'That's what's important: how you react to someone while they're sleeping and not exerting any influence over you.' 'If you want to strike it lucky with men, you have to let them think you're stupid.' 'In my experience those who tell you immediately: 'You know, I'm such an introvert,' are anything but, and you can rest assured that they're going to tell you everything that's on their mind.'

'I know for a fact that those who 'always have to tell the truth' are definitely lying.' 'I was sad about not having gotten any political education.

But I did have three pieces of hazelnut torte - which took care of my lunch, which couldn't be said about a lesson in politics.' Very interesting lost classic. Written in early 30's Germany about what life was like for a young, attractive, spunky, slightly desperate 20-something woman who leaves her screwy home to hit the big city, in this case it's Berlin. Keun was a bestselling author of her time and it's easy to see why.

The story isn't much in terms of plot acrs or cohesion, but it doesn't need to be. We follow our heroine Doris's inner reel of perceptions and actions as she makes her way through the city, flirting an Very interesting lost classic. Written in early 30's Germany about what life was like for a young, attractive, spunky, slightly desperate 20-something woman who leaves her screwy home to hit the big city, in this case it's Berlin. Keun was a bestselling author of her time and it's easy to see why.

The story isn't much in terms of plot acrs or cohesion, but it doesn't need to be. We follow our heroine Doris's inner reel of perceptions and actions as she makes her way through the city, flirting and being broke, delighting in the complexity of the urban environment right after the swinging, decadent 20's and, just before that, the roiling devastation of WWI. Doris doesn't have a lot of formal education, but she's sharp and realistic and intuitive and it isn't hard to root for her. She doesn't seem to be worried too much that generally she's looking for all the superficial things- sex, glamour, beautification, gifts from men, etc. She knows that she is living in a material world and she is a material girl. As the man said, she got to use what she got to get just what she wants.

But at the same time, we're talking about a Berlin that is going to start to go under in a very big way. As the introduction points out, Doris isn't stupid but she's dimly aware of the political upheaval that is coming, as were many Germans, until it was too late. There are times when Doris mentions seeing some political speeches that she doesn't understand and some newspaper headlines that mean little to her. It's frustrating, but not against her personally- you wish there had been a way for her to be a little more politically informed. Doris is, in her own way, politically conscious.

She can't help but notice the disturbing number of homeless people and wounded soldiers from the Great War wandering the streets, nor can she forget how many women turn to streetwalking to survive. The symptoms of the larger social/political/racial/economic catastrophes looming on the horizon are there, and she records them vividly.

At one point she mentions going on a date with a guy who asks her if she's Jewish. Doris replies, indifferently, that she is not. Her date doesn't seem to register this and starts ranting shrilly about this social menace for the rest of the meal. What she doesn't do is stick her nose in the air or blame the people she sees.

Doris understands how rough it gets- at one point, destitute and heartbroken, she spends a frigid Christmas eve sleeping on a park bench. She bums rides off of strangers, hits up dates for cash, maybe hustles here and there for a meal or a glass of cognac (making the immortal observation along the way that it all tastes much better when you know you can pay for it), crashes in the back of taxis for a couple hours' sleep. She's matter-of-fact about her own plight, tolerant and sympathetic about the plight of others. What she really wants, as do all of us, is love. She finds a temporary peace with a mopey army veteran with a piece of shrapnel in his shoulder whose wife as absconded, leaving him to abstractly mourn and pick up the pieces. Doris domesticates, tentatively at first, then goes all in, cooking dinner and washing clothes and making beds, only to see her hopes dashed. Doris is hurt, and records her feelings vividly, but is bracingly unsentimental about it as she sits in the train station nursing her broken heart and figuring out her next move.

An underappreciated gem of a book. Bestselling in its day. The Nazis banned it, burned all the copies, but luckily a few editions survived. Keunn ended up ditching her idiot husband once the Nazis took control and made it to Switzerland and the Netherlands, where she mingled with Zweig and became Joseph Roth's girlfriend. When she made it back to her home country, she had a daughter and resisted every offer to write an autobiography. This is too bad- it's well worth making the quicksilver acquaintance of the artificial silk girl. First published in 1932, taking place in Berlin, this is the story of an uneducated girl trying to “make it” in any kind of profession: her one goal is to be rich and not have to worry, no matter how she does it.

The Artificial Silk Girl Wiki

I found the descriptors of the book to be misleading “Damned by the Nazis, hailed by the feminists”). Looking at content, this one is difficult for me. As always, I’m happy to find out bits of historical information that I didn’t know I didn’t know (for example, in order for our heroin First published in 1932, taking place in Berlin, this is the story of an uneducated girl trying to “make it” in any kind of profession: her one goal is to be rich and not have to worry, no matter how she does it.

I found the descriptors of the book to be misleading “Damned by the Nazis, hailed by the feminists”). Looking at content, this one is difficult for me.

As always, I’m happy to find out bits of historical information that I didn’t know I didn’t know (for example, in order for our heroine, Doris, to get a job she needs papers. I’m guessing they are identity papers. There is also a fast food restaurant, Quick). The history, the despair of the masses is not played up but it is not ignored; it is part of the fabric of everyday life.

Doris is bored by politics, by her own admission, but she makes occasional observations that, in the hindsight of the Holocaust, have an even deeper and more dreadful meaning. Keun sneaks politics into the novel in places without weighing it down; in terms of a woman's role in society, you might say that Keun's entire book is a commentary on this, in a light and rather, well, 'chick lit' sort of tone. Yet there are problems with the feminism in this book: while Doris grasps the way men treat her and the place of women, she is more than eager to be part of the status quo: in fact it's what she wants more than anything else, whether it's fame or a husband. And she's constantly denigrating fat people and considering them less worthy than other women simply because they’re fat; she does grow a bit at the end, and while she finds herself alone at times, she is still constantly looking for a man to help her out of her situation (while being under little illusion about what they can give her and what she can give them). Doris talks about her encounters with men, freely admits to stealing, talks about sex, about meeting prostitutes,living on a park bench, homelessness and a smattering of race politics, greed and falling in love in a rather chatty and adolescent tone, which makes the book a fairly easy read. In terms of structure, this is tight and character driven; the diary format gives some leeway for making comments that might not work in another kind of novel, and it gives us of course just the one point of view. We see Doris grow up a bit, particularly as all her resources run out and she becomes even more aware of the world around her, though she is eloquent in her opinion of men.

Also of note to me, Doris is at once sympathetic to lesbians when viewed glamorously in the movie Maedchen in Uniform and on the other hand is contemptuous of them as “perverts” (p. 150).I am also aware of the limitations of reading a translation, and would be ever curious about reading this in its original form.

Full disclosure: I may have accidentally stolen this book from BEA ^^;;;;; You know in the exhibit hall publisher booths are piled high and deep with galleys for people to take for free, but as I was cracking the spine on this one I realized that I hadn't picked it up from a pile of identical copies. Oh it was a galley all right, but it was one of only a handful of copies and sometimes pubs bring these along as 'display only' samples. So Other Press, if this gem wasn't meant to walk away from th Full disclosure: I may have accidentally stolen this book from BEA ^^;;;;; You know in the exhibit hall publisher booths are piled high and deep with galleys for people to take for free, but as I was cracking the spine on this one I realized that I hadn't picked it up from a pile of identical copies. Oh it was a galley all right, but it was one of only a handful of copies and sometimes pubs bring these along as 'display only' samples. So Other Press, if this gem wasn't meant to walk away from the table I sincerely apologize. But I know that I have been recommending this book to all of my friends. I LOVE THIS BOOK It's basically chicklit from the 1930s with the shadow of the Nazis hanging over the otherwise whimsical Breakfast at Tiffany's type glamor.

What makes this book so much fun is that the consumerism, the sexual manipulation, the musings about men and women's places in society are balanced by very subtle descriptions of the political climate of the time. Unlike modern chicklit where the main character is heading towards a perfect life with perfect happiness, you already know where Doris is heading: life under the Nazis, WWII. That's makes her 'material girl' rather charming even as she does horrible and selfish things to get ahead. One thing I didn't like about this book is that Doris can babble and, at times, switch topics mid-paragraph.

You can get lost in her narration and end up pages in without knowing what is going on. Wise, moving, funny: this book has EVERYTHING. I love the voice of Doris, a waif with a big heart who has a hard time surviving on the streets of 1932 Berlin. After a couple of nasty experiences with lecherous bosses, Doris decides she'd rather do just about anything else than work for a living. Like many pretty girls, she has vague dreams of making it as an actress, but she is too shrewd to believe in her own fantasies of instant stardom.

She is painfully aware of her lack of education, and of Wise, moving, funny: this book has EVERYTHING. I love the voice of Doris, a waif with a big heart who has a hard time surviving on the streets of 1932 Berlin. After a couple of nasty experiences with lecherous bosses, Doris decides she'd rather do just about anything else than work for a living. Like many pretty girls, she has vague dreams of making it as an actress, but she is too shrewd to believe in her own fantasies of instant stardom. She is painfully aware of her lack of education, and of her slim chances in a world where most people are hitting others for money all the time. And yet she is full of the exuberance of youth, and ready to pick herself up after every fall.

But it's not only because she has created one of the most lovable heroines in literary history that I think so highly of Irmgard Keun. What Doris expresses is Keun's faith that even when civilization is about to collapse, one pure heart can redeem mankind. I'm thankful to Kathie von Ankum for this new translation of this major book, but fail to understand how she can compare Doris with Bridget Jones and Carrie Bradshaw. It is absurd to claim, as she does, that Doris is 'the quintessential material girl.' Be forewarned: this is NOT what this novel is about at all! The first few pages of this book, I really struggled, trying to follow as Doris shifted from one thought to another, segueing from topic to topic with no real pause. That is why I have always had a general dislike for stream of consciousness novels.

Anyhow, I persevered and gradually found myself getting into the flow of the prose. The story is simple enough, following Doris as she moves through a string of men and troubles in Berlin in the early 1930's. You get a great sense of time and place fr The first few pages of this book, I really struggled, trying to follow as Doris shifted from one thought to another, segueing from topic to topic with no real pause. That is why I have always had a general dislike for stream of consciousness novels. Anyhow, I persevered and gradually found myself getting into the flow of the prose. The story is simple enough, following Doris as she moves through a string of men and troubles in Berlin in the early 1930's. You get a great sense of time and place from her descriptions and the characters come across well too.

Anyone who is into the Bridget Jones style 'dear diary' reads will probably find this enjoyable as it is really a sort of precursor to that idea, but written more as a single stream than as dated entries in a diary. I found it an enjoyable read, but I had wished for a slightly different ending and felt a little flat when I turned the final page. Also, the language seemed stiff at times, but I am not sure if that was the style of the piece or just a translation matter; I may read it in German later to compare. Still, an interesting glimpse at 1930's Berlin, told from an eccentric, upbeat point of view. Worth checking out. I received this book as a free e-book ARC from NetGalley. Irmgard Keun's beautiful novel of working class women in the 1930s is a comic and realistic account.

A young girl goes to Berlin to make her way and finds life difficult. The story's realism makes the protagonist more sympathetic in her struggles with life. While a distant relative of Dreiser's Carrie this story reminded me more of the Berlin of Alfred Doblin in the sense that we see people whose lives are on the edge during a time of dramatic change. In many ways this is a miniature version of Irmgard Keun's beautiful novel of working class women in the 1930s is a comic and realistic account. A young girl goes to Berlin to make her way and finds life difficult. The story's realism makes the protagonist more sympathetic in her struggles with life.

While a distant relative of Dreiser's Carrie this story reminded me more of the Berlin of Alfred Doblin in the sense that we see people whose lives are on the edge during a time of dramatic change. In many ways this is a miniature version of what Doblin did in his novel where he brought everything to life, with the sights, sounds, smells, hopes and fears of not only big city life but modern experience. Keun's novel deserves to be more widely read.

Find more information about: ISBN: 553X OCLC Number: 759512847 Reproduction Notes: Electronic reproduction. S.l.: HathiTrust Digital Library, 2010.

MiAaHDL Description: 1 online resource (xxi, 194 pages) Details: Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1.

Digital Library Federation, December 2002. Other Titles: Kunstseidene Mädchen.

Responsibility: Irmgard Keun; translated by Kathie von Ankum; introduction by Maria Tatar. More information:. Abstract.