Another 3 weeks and I will be in Berlin …. only impatience has (once again) got the better of me . I have travelled, early and virtually, courtesy of Beatrice Colin, born English, living in Scotland, with a fascination for Germany and its history. Tick so many of my boxes and a book is destined for the top of my TBR. The only surprise is that this one has has taken so long. The book had passed me by completely until Simon of Savidgereads raved about it.
Set in the first half of the 20th century, Lilly’s life starts the way it continues …. colourfully. She is the illegitimate daughter of a cabaret dancer. Her father a baron. By the age of three, she is orphaned as both parents are shot: her mother in a crime of passion, her father by her murdered mother’s lover. She is then fostered by a couple who have lost their own child but eventually she lands in an orphanage. All this by the age of 3!
And so it continues. Lilly’s life is populated by a cast of colourful characters although she herself is more mousey and conventional. Her friend, Hanne, is the one who runs off to the front line to – er – service the soldiers. Lilly stays at home in Berlin to starve it out. Bad luck is her constant companion as she overcomes one setback after another. After the war Hanne returns with a sackful of money and pretensions of becoming an actress. But it’s Lilly on whom fortune eventually smiles and finally her life become luminous. But will patterns of the past be repeated?
The entertainment factor is high although the constant repeated pattern of peak and trough does at times become slightly predictable and, at times, mawkish (in a Dickensian way). That said the twist at the end is quite brilliant!
German history, particularly that of Berlin, is central – World War I, the Spartacist rebellion, the decadence of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazism all loom large but are skillfully woven into the fabric of the plot so that, at no time, is the reader confronted with an academic history lesson. The 20’s and 30’s were the heyday of the silent movie. Colin pays tribute to this era in which Lilly becomes a successful actress by inventing a series of movies in which Lilly stars. I’m no movie buff but I do recognise a spoof of Metropole when I read it. I suspect there’s much more research and cleverness in these fake film scripts than I can give Colin credit for.
I must also mention the delightful photographs that accompany the start of each section. Again even though I don’t fully understand their significance (apart, once more, from the still from Metropole, recognised not from the film but from a Queen video!), they add colour, atmosphere and context and are indicative of the care and attention that has been invested in this well-researched novel.
1/2
It’s not often that I read an author’s bibliography. It’s even rarer that I invest in some of the works listed. In this case I have done both. The book on the left is now in hand and will accompany me on my trip to Berlin. I hope too that it will provide inspiration for a series of literary pics. The book on the right is now a must-own but proving to a challenge to track down at an affordable price. All suggestions welcome.
The Assassin's Song - M G Vassanji
The White Castle - Orhan Pamuk
Hysteria - Andrew Scull
The File - Tim Garton Ash
Ordinary Thunderstorms - William Boyd
Fighting It - Regi Claire
Foolish Mortals - Jennifer Johnston
The Bethlehem Murders - Matt Rees
Basil - Wilkie Collins
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher
Adam Gould - Julia O'Faolain
The House at Riverton - Kate Morton
Der Struwwelpeter auf Englisch - Translated by Mark Twain
Three Bags Full - Leonie Swann
Mystic Pig - Richard Katrovas
The Blue Fox - Sjon
The Latin American Challenge
1. The Blue Fox 
Inkheart - Cornelia Funke
The Enchanted April - Elizabeth von Arnim
Many thanks for this, Lizzy. I did not enjoy it as much as you have – I am still trying to work out quite why I didn’t like it much! It is partly that repetitiveness you mention – in the end (well, before half way through, in fact), I just became bored. I never did get to care about Lilly, nor Hanne, and the constant refrain of Eva became intensely irritating. I loved the Russian, Ilya – he alone came alive for me.
I also never worked out the purpose of those introductions to each chapter. Presumably they are real-life incidents and episodes – and set up something of the fiction that follows – but the whole thing did not hang together well for me. Like you, I loved the photos – but felt that Colin herself failed to bring alive the city of Berlin, I didn’t feel there was a strong sense of place despite frequent reference to locations. And do people really call it ‘the’ Unter den Linden, rather than just Unter den Linden? I assume they do, as she must know better than me, but I’ve never referred to it with the definite article, and found that jarring – but if it’s accurate, I will overlook that!
I also didn’t find the twist at the end brilliant (if you mean what happens on the train) – I thought it was inevitable from a certain point in the novel (won’t give spoilers in case anyone is inspired to read it by your review!).
All in all quite disappointing. Just a biographical account really – about someone I found it hard to engage with. I was hoping she would become part of the cabaret scene, which would have been much more fun, and would be someone more rebellious – I found her quite boring.
There were good parts – the early part in the orphanage was quite good, and seemed promising – promise unfulfilled, as it turned out, a bit like Jane Eyre, which also becomes pretty boring once Jane starts to grow up! I just didn’t really believe in any of it – too much historical research and not enough literary/fictional prowess, a common fault with historical novels (my least favourite genre – though the Beryl Bainbridge I read recently about people on the Titanic was wonderful!).
Well, Lily looks like a good read, and the topic is of interest to me – great review too.
Lucky you going to Berlin – lots of literary associations there.
Oh I am sad you didnt love it quite as much as I did, am worried now that my recommendations arent as good as I would like hahahaha! You liked it though which is something, I too thought the twist at the end was quite quite brilliant.
I’m beginning to think I missed something at the end…will go back and read it again!
I don’t think so, Evie. It’s one of those things you saw coming or not (as in my case).
To answer your original comments:
Weren’t the chapter introductions films that Lilly appeared in? It’s a conceit I enjoyed although the plots of the films didn’t always corelate to Lilly’s “real”-life experiences as neatly as I would have preferred.
I agree too that the sense of place was disappointing but compensated for me, by the sense of time and history. That said Colins’s Berlin is much more real than Julia Franck’s. (I’m currently reading “The Blind Side of the Heart”.)
I debated my final star-rating. In the end I kept the additional 1/2 star as the ending took me by surprise.
My biggest regret though is that I read it too early. This would have been a fantastic holiday read.
That was partly my fault, Lizzy – that you read it too early, I mean – so I apologise for that! I hadn’t thought of the introductions as the films Lilly appeared in, mainly because they seemed factual, or based on historical fact, like the reference to Lang’s Metropolis, and some political events. Might go back and have a look, though – that might make more sense of them! I read them as the background to Lilly’s life and actions, but they didn’t work for me in that context, so I am probably mistaken.
Have you read Ian McEwan’s The Innocents? That came up on Amazon when I bought the Beatrice Colin, and is set in Berlin – will give that a go at some point, but while I know you and I disagree pretty strongly on Saturday, I’d be interested to know what you thought of it if you have read it.
My relationship with McEwan has cooled since the days of Atonement. Fortunately, though, it was on fire when I read The Innocent.
I wrote about it here:
http://lizzysiddal.wordpress.com/2007/09/09/booker-2007-mcewan-and-me/