Customer Reviews

Collected Short Stories

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The author is best known for his theatrical work and poems, while his narrative prose has been underestimated. This collection of 37 short stories (reprinted for Brecht's centenary) shows another facet of Brecht's literary gift. This is writing with an unpretentious tone and reporting style. The composition of the stories falls into three distinct periods. The Bavarian stories written between 1920 and 1024 treat mainly autobiographical problems of a young man in his early twenties. The Berlin stories written between 1924 and 1933 marks his most intense period in this genre. These stories have a sober and realistic style, thematically dominated by topical issues of the 1920's, aiming to reveal the social behavior of individuals. The third group refers to stories written during Brecht's exile (1937-1940), the first pieces serve as ammunition in the struggle against fascism, and the later ones have a strong socially critical orientation. The reader familiarized with the work of Brecht (poems and plays) will certainly recognize the author's style in these short stories, his determination to represent reality accurately, lack of affectation, anecdotal but with a sense of dread. Quite a treat for a lover of short stories!

The author is best known for his theatrical work and poems, while his narrative prose has been underestimated. This collection of 37 short stories (reprinted for Brecht's centenary) shows another facet of Brecht's literatry gift. This is writing with an unpretentious tone and reporting style. The composition of the stories falls into three distinct periods. The Bavarian stories written between 1920 and 1924 treat mainly autobiographical problems of a young man in his early twenties. The Berlin stories written between 1924 and 1933 marks his most intense period in this genre. These stories have a sober and realistic style, thematically dominated by topical issues of the 1920's, aiming to reveal the social behavior of individuals. The third group refers to stories written during Brecht's exile (1937-1940), the first pieces serve as ammunition in the struggle against fascism, and the later ones have a strong socially critical orientation. The reader familiarized with the work of Brecht (poems and plays) will certainly recognize the author's style stamped in these short stories, his determination to represent reality accurately, lack of affectation, anecdotal but with a sense of dread. Quite a treat for a lover of short stories!