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Matt's Reviews > Emil und die Detektive
Emil und die Detektive
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This is more like a review-by-proxy of Emil and the detectives.
I watched a in which Marcel Reich-Ranicki, without doubt the most famous German literary critc of his time, is talking about German authors; this time about Erich Kästner. Of course he also had something to say about "Emil". Born in Poland in 1920 with a Polish father and German mother, the family moved to Berlin in the late 1920s. Here little Marcel learned to read German. Although he sort of liked the usual books set in exotic places and historic times ("Ben Hur", "Quo Vadis", "Robinson Crusoe", the Karl May stuff, etc.) he was enthusiatic about Kästner's novel for children. This was the very first book, at least in Germany, that is set in a place the children actually know about (Berlin) and at the current time and not in some distant past. The characters in the book speak the same language as the readers, while the story is also believable and understandable. So here's a clear five-star-rating from Mr Reich-Ranicki.
But that's not what I wanted to talk about.
Later Reich-Ranicki moved back to Poland and, as a Jew, was held captive in the Warshaw Ghetto. In an antiquarian bookshop he discovered some German books, one of which was Kästner's Lyrische Hausapotheke (Poetic Medicine Chest). He wasn't able (or not allowed) to buy the book, but he could borrow it for a limited time. His then-girlfriend (and later wife) copied the poems by hand, added some images, and gave it to her boyfriend as a gift for his 21st birthday. They both read the "book" many times, while hearing Germans shooting and Jews screaming on the streets of the ghetto. Death was imminent any day.
After the war Reich-Ranicki went back to Germany, and eventually became a known figure in German literary circles. In the mid-fifties he met Erich Kästner in Munich for the first time. When he showed Kästner the "illegal" copy of his book that was read in the Warshaw Ghetto the author had no idea that his works (banned and burned by the Nazis) were read outside of Germany during the war. I bet he had to brush away a tear or two. Another case of a pen that is ultimatley mightier than any sword.
PS: There was a facsimile edition made from the Ghetto book, and I think I'm going to get me a copy.
I watched a in which Marcel Reich-Ranicki, without doubt the most famous German literary critc of his time, is talking about German authors; this time about Erich Kästner. Of course he also had something to say about "Emil". Born in Poland in 1920 with a Polish father and German mother, the family moved to Berlin in the late 1920s. Here little Marcel learned to read German. Although he sort of liked the usual books set in exotic places and historic times ("Ben Hur", "Quo Vadis", "Robinson Crusoe", the Karl May stuff, etc.) he was enthusiatic about Kästner's novel for children. This was the very first book, at least in Germany, that is set in a place the children actually know about (Berlin) and at the current time and not in some distant past. The characters in the book speak the same language as the readers, while the story is also believable and understandable. So here's a clear five-star-rating from Mr Reich-Ranicki.
But that's not what I wanted to talk about.
Later Reich-Ranicki moved back to Poland and, as a Jew, was held captive in the Warshaw Ghetto. In an antiquarian bookshop he discovered some German books, one of which was Kästner's Lyrische Hausapotheke (Poetic Medicine Chest). He wasn't able (or not allowed) to buy the book, but he could borrow it for a limited time. His then-girlfriend (and later wife) copied the poems by hand, added some images, and gave it to her boyfriend as a gift for his 21st birthday. They both read the "book" many times, while hearing Germans shooting and Jews screaming on the streets of the ghetto. Death was imminent any day.
After the war Reich-Ranicki went back to Germany, and eventually became a known figure in German literary circles. In the mid-fifties he met Erich Kästner in Munich for the first time. When he showed Kästner the "illegal" copy of his book that was read in the Warshaw Ghetto the author had no idea that his works (banned and burned by the Nazis) were read outside of Germany during the war. I bet he had to brush away a tear or two. Another case of a pen that is ultimatley mightier than any sword.
PS: There was a facsimile edition made from the Ghetto book, and I think I'm going to get me a copy.
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Emil und die Detektive.
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Reading Progress
September 14, 2015
– Shelved as:
to-be-considered
September 14, 2015
– Shelved
September 14, 2015
– Shelved as:
look-out-kid
December 18, 2015
– Shelved as:
before-forever-banned
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Miriam wrote: "I'm going to read this soon!"Thank you Miriam. I suppose you mean Emil. Hope you enjoy!
In English such books are definitely around by the 19th century. Edith Nesbit is the first name that comes to mind, although I don't know if she was the first to write them. Certainly not if you include books that were written for didactic purposes.
That's a great story about the handwritten copy.
I'm going to read this soon!