I’ve read all six of Austrian writer Daniel Kehlmann’s novels and reviewed four on here, each of them very different from the others. The Director tells the story of film director G. W. Pabst who found himself trapped after the annexation of Austria, apparently with no choice but to produce films for Goebbels’s Ministry of Public Enlightenment Propaganda.
I see it differently, Pabst. It makes all the difference in the world which side one stands on.
Georg Pabst’s career began before the talkies, discovering both Greta Garbo and Louise Brooks, but he made his directing name in the ‘30s. After a spell working in Paris, he took Trude and their son Jakob to Hollywood, far away from the trouble brewing in Europe, hoping to pitch an idea which falls flat thanks to his poor English and no one knowing who he is. After an odd encounter at a party and an alarming telegram from his mother, he and his family return to the dilapidated castle where Ericka is looked after by a couple straight out of an Austrian version of Cold Comfort Farm. Despite his determined refusal to work for the Nazis, he finds he has no choice, or perhaps he convinces himself of that. Pabst has already compromised himself working with Leni Riefenstahl in the late ’20s, but this will be a much greater betrayal of his ideals, one which sees Trude take to drink. He begins to think of his work as art, fashioning his last film, The Molander Case, into a masterpiece in his own head despite the flimsy plot of the book on which it’s based. The film is close to completion in Prague when the Uprising opens the doors for the Russians. Pabst and his assistant catch the last train to Vienna carrying seven reels of film with them.
At first they lived up here, then they had to move down to the caretaker’s quarters because Papa had been an emigrant, a Jew-lover, and made Communist films, but then Papa was suddenly a good German again, and so they were allowed to move back to the second floor, and the Jerzabeks almost disappeared in their humility and eagerness to serve.
Kehlmann’s at pains to point out that while his book is based on Pabst’s wartime years, it’s a work of fiction with very little in the way of primary sources to draw on, underlined by the theme of memory’s fallibility and a few almost hallucinatory episodes. The narrative shifts from Pabst to Trude to Jakob, punctuated with occasional flashes of humour amid the darkness. Pabst convinces himself that he’s compelled to accept Goebbels’s proposal but Trude begs to differ, disgusted with his talk of the pursuit of art regardless of the appalling crimes of his patrons. Pabst sank into obscurity after the war, his reputation destroyed, leaving little trace in cinema history. It’s a fascinating story, executed well, but not my favourite Kehlmann which is a tossup between the doorstopping Tyll, set in the seventeenth century, and his debut, Measuring the World.
Riverrun: London 9781529435115 352 pages Hardback (read via NetGalley)
I find it hard to resist novels set in this time and place, so I’ll look out for this, despite your slightly guarded review.
As a Kehlmann fan, I did think it was worth reading but it felt like a pet project.
Oh. Well, I’ll still try to give it a go.
Hope it works for you. His writing is well worth exploring.
I have literally just bought this today! I’ve read all Kehlmann’s work and he is one of my favourite writers.
Hope you enjoy it, Cathy. He’s such a versatile writer.
I’ve read four by Kehlmann (I never did make it through Tyll) and have this from Edelweiss. What an awful UK cover! The U.S. one is much better.
I see what you mean!
I’m delighted you reviewed this as I’ve been pondering whether or not to spend an audible credit on it! Given I’ve never read him before it sounds as if I should check out other works first. I really enjoyed Jonathan Coe’s take on film history and since then have been drawn to novels about early Hollywood. It seems a fashionable topic at the moment though so there’s choice!
I wasn’t quite as taken with this one as I’d hoped but he’s an excellent writer. Jonathan Coe is so good on film history, isn’t he. His time as a film critic paid off well.
I’ve never read this author and I do keep meaning to give him a try. This does sound interesting, but maybe not the best place to start.
I’d suggest his debut, Measuring the World, still one of my favourites.
Noted – thank you!
You’re welcome! Hope you enjoy it.
I recall your having drawn attention to his work to having been so impressed, but I’ve yet to try one. I wonder, when you see that you’ve read 4/6 but haven’t blogged about 2, do you ever think of rereading and including those missing 2? It would be a losing battle, but I find myself thinking of this, from time to time.
You prompted me to wonder if I might write a Blast From the Past on Measuring the World but a quick search reveals I did review it in the very early days of the blog so that’s five out of six!
I’ll be reading this very soon, so I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed it even if it didn’t become a favourite. You’ve also reminded me that I haven’t read Measuring the World yet!
I’ll be interested to know what you think of it. You’re in for a treat with Measuring the World!
I’ve read and loved Measuring the World (in fact, I revisited it for German Lit Month a couple of years ago) but m yet to explore more of his list; this sounds good but I see Tyll might be a better choice for my next pick!
I think Tyll would definitely be a better choice. It fits quite well with Measuring the World.