Helpful Score: 3
Well, this definitely was NOT "Cabaret"! However, it was a very interesting glimpse into the lives of people living in pre-Nazi Germany. This was definitely autobiographical given that the narrator was Christopher Isherwood or Herr Issyvoo as his landlady Fraulein Schroeder calls him. He also references his first novel "All the Conspirators" in the narrative. The book actually is an episodic look at Isherwood's acquaintances while he was in Berlin working as a writer and teacher. Included among these acquaintances was Sally Bowles, the naive young singer and hopeful actress who would and does sleep with most anyone to further her career. I was hoping for a more flamboyant personality like she was portrayed by Liza Minelli in the movie but Sally in the book was not quite what I was expecting. Others described in the book were Peter and Otto, an obviously gay couple struggling with their relationship; the Nowaks, a poor family that Isherwood boarded with; and the Laundauers, a rich Jewish family who owned a department store. All of these people would be most at risk from the uprising Nazi movement which overshadows the lives of the characters. When this was published in 1939, I'm sure it was very scandalous and risque. In fact, I found a scan of a copy from 1952 that states on the cover: "Bohemian Life in a Wicked City." Overall, I enjoyed the novel and would recommend it.
The collection of stories that were made into the play "I Am a Camera" and the musical "Caberet." A fascinating look at Berlin in the late '30s.
