What do you think?
Rate this book
The Berlin Connection
Transcripts of tapes made in an Italian sanatorium reveal Peter Gordon's obsession with making a successful motion-picture comeback
- GenresFiction
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
3 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Johannes Mario Simmel
133 books88 followersJohannes Mario Simmel was an Austrian writer.
He was born in Vienna and grew up in Austria and England. He was trained as a chemical engineer and worked in research from 1943 to the end of World War II. After the end of the war, he worked as a translator for the American military government and published reviews and stories in the Vienna Welt am Abend. Starting in 1950, he worked as a reporter for the Munich illustrated Quick in Europe and America.
He wrote a number of screenplays and novels, which have sold tens of millions of copies. Many of his novels were successfully filmed in the 1960s and 1970s. He won numerous prizes, including the Award of Excellence of the Society of Writers of the UN. Important issues in his novels are a fervent pacifism as well as the relativity of good and bad. Several novels are said to have a true background, possibly autobiographic.
According to his Swiss lawyer, Simmel died on January 1, 2009 in Lucerne, at 84 years of age.
He was born in Vienna and grew up in Austria and England. He was trained as a chemical engineer and worked in research from 1943 to the end of World War II. After the end of the war, he worked as a translator for the American military government and published reviews and stories in the Vienna Welt am Abend. Starting in 1950, he worked as a reporter for the Munich illustrated Quick in Europe and America.
He wrote a number of screenplays and novels, which have sold tens of millions of copies. Many of his novels were successfully filmed in the 1960s and 1970s. He won numerous prizes, including the Award of Excellence of the Society of Writers of the UN. Important issues in his novels are a fervent pacifism as well as the relativity of good and bad. Several novels are said to have a true background, possibly autobiographic.
According to his Swiss lawyer, Simmel died on January 1, 2009 in Lucerne, at 84 years of age.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 18, 2015
This book has only been published in German and as far as I am know, not been translated into English. As it is a rather big book, I have not attempted the translation myself (I sometimes do this for my own purposes only, as, of course, I don't have the permission from the publisher to distribute a translation). So all my English only readers will not get the chance to read this book, but I would still like to publish a review on it to log all the books I read. And, I believe there are some other Simmel books which have been translated and it is well worth picking them up! Most are long and epic works, but very detailed.
Here, the story starts with a rather large lady being stuck in a hole. Except... this is the entrance hole to a tunnel. A tunnel which has been dug illegally and under threat of being shot dead which leads from East to West Berlin and allows people to flee into the West. Bruno Knolle, in his 40's, has just come out of jail in East Berlin and also comes through the same tunnel, escaping into the West. But not all is like it seems with Bruno. His 'escape' into the West is orchestrated and he has orders what to do. But Bruno is just a simple man dreaming from having his own pub and being with his girl, Nellie. But he gets sucked into the dark world of secret services on both sides.
We meet many different characters, and even the most minor characters (who may be just mentioned once for a couple of pages) are beautifully drawn and we feel that we know all about them. Often, characters in his books interconnect later on and we 'meet' them again. Simmel also always has a message in his books - mainly that we are all humans living on this earth. Here specifically I find he shows the idiocy and ridiculousness of the devision of Berlin. Of course it was dead serious, but having the benefit of hindsight now it just sound so silly how the secret services worked against each other - often even with double agents who swap sides several times. I also find it simply incredible that this book was published in 1965 and while we know that history has long moved on, the writing is flawless and current.
Simmel's books are not a small feast, but you will find yourself lost in it quickly and before you know it, you have read over 700 pages. http://thepegsterreads.blogspot.co.uk...
Here, the story starts with a rather large lady being stuck in a hole. Except... this is the entrance hole to a tunnel. A tunnel which has been dug illegally and under threat of being shot dead which leads from East to West Berlin and allows people to flee into the West. Bruno Knolle, in his 40's, has just come out of jail in East Berlin and also comes through the same tunnel, escaping into the West. But not all is like it seems with Bruno. His 'escape' into the West is orchestrated and he has orders what to do. But Bruno is just a simple man dreaming from having his own pub and being with his girl, Nellie. But he gets sucked into the dark world of secret services on both sides.
We meet many different characters, and even the most minor characters (who may be just mentioned once for a couple of pages) are beautifully drawn and we feel that we know all about them. Often, characters in his books interconnect later on and we 'meet' them again. Simmel also always has a message in his books - mainly that we are all humans living on this earth. Here specifically I find he shows the idiocy and ridiculousness of the devision of Berlin. Of course it was dead serious, but having the benefit of hindsight now it just sound so silly how the secret services worked against each other - often even with double agents who swap sides several times. I also find it simply incredible that this book was published in 1965 and while we know that history has long moved on, the writing is flawless and current.
Simmel's books are not a small feast, but you will find yourself lost in it quickly and before you know it, you have read over 700 pages. http://thepegsterreads.blogspot.co.uk...
August 14, 2024
Der Berliner ihre Angst in den 60er Jahren. Tunnels von West- nach Ostberlin werden gebaut, Spione verpflichten Buerger zum spionieren und werden von dem Gegenueber als deren ihr 1. Spion verpflichtet, mit schoenen Versprechungen. Die Amerikaner und Briten in den Berliner Zonen mischen auch mit. Hervorragend und mahnend in einen wunderbaren Roman verpackt.
July 18, 2016
Great Book Actually, fascinating
January 13, 2008
A wonderful spy and intrique story. Light hearted - a great read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews