Berlin: City of Stones: Book One (Part 1) [Paperback]

Jason Lutes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2000

Berlin: City of Stones presents the first part of Jason Lutes' captivating trilogy, set in the twilight years of Germany's Weimar Republic. Kurt Severing, a journalist, and Marthe Muller, an art student, are the central figures in a broad cast of characters intertwined with the historical events unfolding around them. City of Stones covers eight months in Berlin, from September 1928 to May Day, 1929, meticulously documenting the hopes and struggles of its inhabitants as their future is darkened by a glowing shadow.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's difficult to think of a story with a greater sense of elegant, nuanced foreboding than Jason Lutes's Berlin, Book One: City of Stones. Set in the Weimar Republic-era of German history, Lutes's story takes an unimaginably large and historically important time and observes it through the small lives of a band of sympathetic protagonists. The author spends the most time with his main characters, Kurt Severing and Marthe Müller, but the quality of Berlin is such that the reader cares emphatically about the fate of the rest of the cast: the lovelorn dyke art student, the recently separated single mother, even fleeting characters like the street policeman or the overworked newspaper editor. Even so, the shadow of the coming war cautions us not to get too attached to these people. They are imperfect, bickering, and naïve in their ideologies--just like real people. Brutality will soon follow, and the vulnerability of each of the characters haunts the pages.

Using the graphic novel form to tackle an issue like the rise of Nazi Germany is fraught with traps, not least of which are comparisons to other works, such as Maus, as well as literary criticism for minimizing such an important topic. Lutes navigates these hazards well, creating sparse black-and-white sketches that often render a mood wordlessly. Whole pages go without text, and it serves the story well. As much can be told by showing a character in a window's evening reflection, eyes inked as darkened sockets, than through retelling details of (now) familiar historical events. The story itself has a rambling and philosophical feel, focused on details that become all the more poignant for their insignificance. One segment--where Lutes shows Marthe's walk onto a newly snow-covered street--tells us everything we need to know about this character, without much actual action occurring. Lutes doesn't use moments of transcendence to make a point or add sentimentality; instead, he firmly grounds us in this time and place.

Without knowing more about the next volumes, it's impossible to say whether Lutes will use this attachment against the readers later, knocking down his characters cheaply, allowing the shortcuts demanded by the burden of history. The last pages of this book--with a disappointingly predictable resolution--hinted in that direction, but the overall tone of the book indicates that something much richer and deeper will happen along with the inevitable loss. --Jennifer Buckendorff

Product Details

• Paperback: 209 pages
• Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly; 1st edition (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1896597297
• ISBN-13: 978-1896597294
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.6 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #420,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Publishers > Drawn and Quarterly

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars History as Human Interest November 16, 2000

By GePop

Format:Paperback

Jason Lutes has given himself a formidable task: Not only is he seeking to chronicle a hazily-understood period of German history for his American audience...the latter years of the Weimer Republic, when the nascent Democratic experiment was being torn asunder by the Communists on the Left and the National Socialists from the Right...but he is also doing it slowly, methodically, rather than in the slam-bang style most common to comic books. What one might have expected to be an event-driven adventure story is actually a series of thoughtful human interest pieces.

Each chapter unfolds gracefully, linking easily with the next, although each one stands well on its own, without having to rely too heavily on the others in order to be comprehended. The art style isn't "cartoony" by any means...Lutes is a shrewd observer of the human form, and his figures reflect his keen eye. He's also a tireless researcher, and you can rest assured that when he draws an automobile, or a cocktail dress, or a phonograph player, it's appropriate to the time and place. Artistic drama is heightened by his clever use of inking; indeed, his employment of sheer black compares favorably to that of Milton Caniff, although in more subtle ways. It's worth noting that Lutes seems to prefer dealing in strict black and white; there are no zip-a-tone grays here.

But what makes "BERLIN: BOOK ONE" so compelling is the writing. Lutes has created a handful of characters whom we follow chapter after chapter; sometimes, their lives intersect, but in other instances they never meet with one another. Some are Bolsheviks, some are Nazis, some are just survivors in the rapidly shrinking middle. They are all fascinating, and the drama, the humor, and the uncertainty of their fictional lives against the very real historical backdrop of their era gives "BERLIN" its true power.

This is the first volume of what Lutes promises will be a three book saga. One can only admire his audacity, and marvel at the success he has achieved so far.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars hoping and waiting March 2, 2006

By Open Ears

Format:Paperback

The Weimar presents a set of profound issues for an artist or historian to grapple with. Lutes has done a more than admirable job beginning a graphic narrative that does justice to the myriad issues the period dileneates for contemporray readers. He has a point of view, an ability to transmit nuance, complication and contradiction, some compelling characters, a drawing style that to my eye pays some homage to Masereel while taking a more realist turn and big ambitions. The problem here is that we only have 1/3 (now some new chapters have been produced) of a much larger work. It's hard to judge just how successful this project will be with only one third of the story arc completed. I for one appreciate anyone who grapples with the set of questions Lutes is engaged with here and think he's off to a fascinating start but it is kind of like judging an entire play by its first act. We can get swept up in the action in the first act, but at the first intermission we can only hold out hope the rest of the play rewards the promise we just had take a hold of us. It could be a classic or a disapointment. I eagerly await the answer to that.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A BOOK FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO THINK December 29, 2002

By s.5

Format:Paperback

This is a graphic novel for people who like to think -- a complexly connected set of stories that move together in productive, thoughtful ways. Lutes takes full advantage of his spare, generous style of drawing in the creation of this graphic novel ... once you read it, you'll be dying for the next one to come out. It's historically and psychologically rich; a tremendous addition to this growing genre.