1929High Modernism
Berlin Alexanderplatz
Alfred Döblin · 1878–1957 · Germany
Originally Berlin Alexanderplatz (German)
Why it matters
An ex-convict's attempts to go straight in Weimar Berlin collide with pimps, politics, and the city's own overwhelming noise. Joycean montage applied to a single desperate man in a capital sliding toward catastrophe.
At a glance
modernistcrime & noir
Difficulty 8/10slow pace480 pagesMontage of voices, slang, and found text in the Joycean vein.
Deep dive
An ex-convict keeps swearing he'll go straight, and Doblin builds an entire city's noise around him to prove how little that vow is worth against Berlin.
