CRAZY IN BERLIN

by Thomas Berger ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 1958

Post war Berlin is the scene of this agonized odyssey of the German American corporal, Carlo Reinhart. Raised in the mid-west, the twenty-one year old soldier is dramatically reminded of his German ancestry when he is transplanted directly into the scene of anti-semitic German atrocities. Nathan Schild, a double agent who works both for the United States Intelligence and the Russians, becomes a focal point in Reinhart's thinking. Drawn to the idealistic Jew he also despises him because of the guilt he inspires. When Schild attempts to leave the party he is attacked by Russian thugs and Reinhart intervenes hoping that by dying for Schild he will erase the shame he feels. At the very moment that he exposes himself to death he is aware of his ambivalence: on the one hand he is willing to sacrifice himself, but on the other hand he hopes ardently that the Jew will die. Schild is killed and Reinhart, after suffering a mental breakdown, prepares to leave Berlin, the scene of his abortive sexual and moral revolution. His last gesture as he flies from the nightmare of Germany is to inform on a pathetic Communist agent, whom he has, a moment before, agreed to shield. Clumsily written to the point of incomprehensibility, this anatomy of disenchantment leaves a taste of decay.

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1958

ISBN: 038528117X

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribner

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1958

Categories: FICTION