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Flughunde
Seit dem Erscheinen seines ebenso brillanten wie erschütternden Romans »Flughunde« im Jahr 1995 gilt Marcel Beyer als »einer der besten jungen Romanciers der Gegenwart« (The New Yorker). »Flughunde«, mittlerweile in 14 Sprachen übersetzt, erzählt vom Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs aus der Perspektive eines fanatischen Akustikers im Dienste der Nazis und aus der Sicht einer der Töchter Goebbels’, erzählt von der Instrumentalisierung der Sprache durch die Propaganda und von Experimenten mit menschlichen Stimmen. Ulli Lust, eine der bedeutendsten deutschsprachigen Comic-Künstler und erst kürzlich mit dem Comic-Oscar, dem Prix Révélation, ausgezeichnet, legt hier Marcel Beyers verstörendes Meisterwerk als Graphic Novel vor.
364 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2013
18 people are currently reading
591 people want to read
About the author
Ulli Lust
18 books102 followersUlli Lust was born in 1967 in Vienna, Austria. Her cartooning work has mainly comprised comics reportages; Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life is her first graphic novel, and her first work to be translated into English. She lives and works in Berlin, Germany.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
September 7, 2023
Truly disturbing GN. In Nazi Germany voices were drowned in the spreading darkness; and one voice that echoed loudest from the abyss belonged to Joseph Goebbels. By focusing on the 'lost' voices of his six children this book brings the horror full circle - and one is left to wonder if the No Exit situation in the Führerbunker was a prelude to eternal damnation.
December 14, 2017
Marcel Beyer’s novel, Flughunde, which could be translated into English as “fruit bat” or “flying fox,” but was called The Karnau Tapes instead, is now a graphic novel called, in English, Voices in the Dark. All of those titles make sense with respect to themes in the book, actually. Beyer’s novel is adapted by Ulli Lust (who did another big book, a memoir of her wild young life, Today is the Last Day of the Rest of your Life), and it is pretty impressive, as different a story from her memoir as one could imagine. Beyer’s The Karnau Tapes—which I have not read, but forms the basis of this graphic novel--is the story of deeply unsettling and at times disturbing events in the last days of the Third Reich.
Sound engineer Herman Karnau is brought to Hitler’s bunker to record the Fuhrer’s last utterances. There he finds young Helga Goebbels and her siblings, children of Hitler’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, who forbids him from taping them. But he is a sound guy; he tapes everything, including them. He tapes battles, miking the front so we can have the sounds of triumph—or, as is the case, agonizing, terror-filled death. The idea is to contribute to new knowledge in science, to better understand breathing, and the sounds humans make, for the purpose of better efficiency. Some of us will recall the German/Nazi propensity for human experimentation and torture, but then also precise collection of data—apparently without shame—regardless of human suffering. Science without humanity, an old story. We must not let emotions—especially not pity--guide our research for the betterment of the Reich and to contribute to its program of World Domination. And we get a (thankfully) few small glimpses of that inhumanity even in the world of sound in this book.
So Hermann Karnau tapes the human voice in all its variations--the rantings of Hitler and Goebbels, the roar of crowds, the rasp of throats constricted in fear. Employed by the Nazis, he tapes party rallies, battle sounds, and the household of Joseph Goebbels. There he meets Helga, the eldest daughter, who is the one who begins to suspect something terrible is happening—with the Goebbels marriage (who is that singer?), and with the war effort. Of course the children know nothing of the camps.
What they did know about were the voices in the dark of "fruit bats" or "flying foxes," which works deftly and subtly as a motif in the book. What do they know, what do they need to learn about scary figures, and what do they need to learn about fear? What do they need to fear? For various reasons we shelter children from terrible truths? What do they need to know, and when?
As Lust helps us see it, Voices in the Dark—the battle at night time, in the bunker, and in the darkness of men’s souls—is a grim, sad story, but it is also a comics achievement of some subtlety and grace and compassion. Hermann and Helga connect. This is real life horror, without question, but it is also a tale we need to hear. Novels help us feel in a way that the academic study of history may not. To see these events from the perspective of innocent children and a naïve young scientist who doesn’t really care about politics, only science, is to bring the horror closer to us. It is not an easy book to read, but it feels necessary, poetic, empathic. Never again, we must keep insisting. I should say I am not a complete fan of Lust’s drawing here—sometimes a little too sketchy, but it’s still powerful, overall. I won't soon forget this book.
When we see images of Hitler in physical decline, I think of this book that also depicts the chaos at the end for him and others:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
And an Academy-award-winning film about the fall of the Third Reich, near the end.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downfal...
You may or may not want to read about the Goebbels children, and confirm that what Beyer and Lust depict really happened, as I did:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goebbel...
With regard to the “scientific” horrors I was reminded of a hard-to-watch film by Ingmar Bergman, The Serpent’s Egg, also about the Nazi campaign:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ser...
Sound engineer Herman Karnau is brought to Hitler’s bunker to record the Fuhrer’s last utterances. There he finds young Helga Goebbels and her siblings, children of Hitler’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, who forbids him from taping them. But he is a sound guy; he tapes everything, including them. He tapes battles, miking the front so we can have the sounds of triumph—or, as is the case, agonizing, terror-filled death. The idea is to contribute to new knowledge in science, to better understand breathing, and the sounds humans make, for the purpose of better efficiency. Some of us will recall the German/Nazi propensity for human experimentation and torture, but then also precise collection of data—apparently without shame—regardless of human suffering. Science without humanity, an old story. We must not let emotions—especially not pity--guide our research for the betterment of the Reich and to contribute to its program of World Domination. And we get a (thankfully) few small glimpses of that inhumanity even in the world of sound in this book.
So Hermann Karnau tapes the human voice in all its variations--the rantings of Hitler and Goebbels, the roar of crowds, the rasp of throats constricted in fear. Employed by the Nazis, he tapes party rallies, battle sounds, and the household of Joseph Goebbels. There he meets Helga, the eldest daughter, who is the one who begins to suspect something terrible is happening—with the Goebbels marriage (who is that singer?), and with the war effort. Of course the children know nothing of the camps.
What they did know about were the voices in the dark of "fruit bats" or "flying foxes," which works deftly and subtly as a motif in the book. What do they know, what do they need to learn about scary figures, and what do they need to learn about fear? What do they need to fear? For various reasons we shelter children from terrible truths? What do they need to know, and when?
As Lust helps us see it, Voices in the Dark—the battle at night time, in the bunker, and in the darkness of men’s souls—is a grim, sad story, but it is also a comics achievement of some subtlety and grace and compassion. Hermann and Helga connect. This is real life horror, without question, but it is also a tale we need to hear. Novels help us feel in a way that the academic study of history may not. To see these events from the perspective of innocent children and a naïve young scientist who doesn’t really care about politics, only science, is to bring the horror closer to us. It is not an easy book to read, but it feels necessary, poetic, empathic. Never again, we must keep insisting. I should say I am not a complete fan of Lust’s drawing here—sometimes a little too sketchy, but it’s still powerful, overall. I won't soon forget this book.
When we see images of Hitler in physical decline, I think of this book that also depicts the chaos at the end for him and others:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
And an Academy-award-winning film about the fall of the Third Reich, near the end.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downfal...
You may or may not want to read about the Goebbels children, and confirm that what Beyer and Lust depict really happened, as I did:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goebbel...
With regard to the “scientific” horrors I was reminded of a hard-to-watch film by Ingmar Bergman, The Serpent’s Egg, also about the Nazi campaign:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ser...
May 7, 2021
Voices in the Dark by Ulli Lust, is a graphic interpretation of the novel 'Flughunde', by Marcel Beyer, translated from the German by John Brownjohn and Nika Knight.
The book is a dual narrative of Hermann Karnau, an acoustics engineer who works for the Third Reich to record and do "research" (you know what that means in Nazi Germany). He is tasked with recording sounds of the top brass, including Hitler himself doing mundane things like coughing and humming for posterity of the Third Reich. Kernau, in his work, meets Joseph Goebbels and his six children. The second narrative follows the Goebbels children, narrated by Helga, the 14/15 year old eldest daughter.
It took awhile for the narrative to develop. Slowly, with a lot of extraneous and sometimes disgusting details of Kernau's obsession with sounds of all types. The story takes a very dark and disturbing turn as the Red Army closes in on Berlin, and we get a flash forward to modern day, and a recollection of the final hours.
It is sad. It is exhaustive, but I'm glad I read it. I read Ulli Lust's graphic memoir, and this couldn't have been more different. It shows her range as a writer and artist.
The book is a dual narrative of Hermann Karnau, an acoustics engineer who works for the Third Reich to record and do "research" (you know what that means in Nazi Germany). He is tasked with recording sounds of the top brass, including Hitler himself doing mundane things like coughing and humming for posterity of the Third Reich. Kernau, in his work, meets Joseph Goebbels and his six children. The second narrative follows the Goebbels children, narrated by Helga, the 14/15 year old eldest daughter.
It took awhile for the narrative to develop. Slowly, with a lot of extraneous and sometimes disgusting details of Kernau's obsession with sounds of all types. The story takes a very dark and disturbing turn as the Red Army closes in on Berlin, and we get a flash forward to modern day, and a recollection of the final hours.
It is sad. It is exhaustive, but I'm glad I read it. I read Ulli Lust's graphic memoir, and this couldn't have been more different. It shows her range as a writer and artist.
December 10, 2017
I haven't read the original novel adapted into this graphic novel. I'm not sure I want to. There are parts that are quite harrowing and I don't know that I'm that keen on revisiting them.
Hermann Karnau is a sound engineer obsessed with recording the human voice, from the loudest shout to the faintest breath. His focus is narrow to the point where the meaning behind the sounds he's capturing often escapes him. He is employed by the Nazis, and eventually meets Helga, the eldest daughter of Joseph Goebbels. Their lives intersect in various ways as World War II approaches its end ...
Even if I weren't aware of its basis in Marcel Beyer's book, this story's novelistic roots are clear. Karnau and the rest of the cast are fully realized characters, and there are recurring themes throughout. The story doesn't seem plotted so much as transcribed, as if the writer merely observed events and dialogue, and recorded them as they happened. The events of the War and the actions of the Nazis loom large in the imagination, and it's interesting to view them on a more human scale. The reactions of Karnau and of Helga, a young girl just beginning to grasp the reality of events around her, provide a way into the story, but into it is not always a pleasant or comfortable place to be.
The book was a bit slow at the beginning, but once I got into it, it moved along nicely. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but nonetheless it is: recommended!
Hermann Karnau is a sound engineer obsessed with recording the human voice, from the loudest shout to the faintest breath. His focus is narrow to the point where the meaning behind the sounds he's capturing often escapes him. He is employed by the Nazis, and eventually meets Helga, the eldest daughter of Joseph Goebbels. Their lives intersect in various ways as World War II approaches its end ...
Even if I weren't aware of its basis in Marcel Beyer's book, this story's novelistic roots are clear. Karnau and the rest of the cast are fully realized characters, and there are recurring themes throughout. The story doesn't seem plotted so much as transcribed, as if the writer merely observed events and dialogue, and recorded them as they happened. The events of the War and the actions of the Nazis loom large in the imagination, and it's interesting to view them on a more human scale. The reactions of Karnau and of Helga, a young girl just beginning to grasp the reality of events around her, provide a way into the story, but into it is not always a pleasant or comfortable place to be.
The book was a bit slow at the beginning, but once I got into it, it moved along nicely. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but nonetheless it is: recommended!
May 31, 2025
First things first, they kill a German Shepard. This book is trash.
Moving on from that. This book was confusing at best, I don’t understand what the purpose of it was honestly. The art was poor to say the least. This book doesn’t add any value to society. The ending was sad, but I’d already decided that this book was a 1 star before that even happened.
Moving on from that. This book was confusing at best, I don’t understand what the purpose of it was honestly. The art was poor to say the least. This book doesn’t add any value to society. The ending was sad, but I’d already decided that this book was a 1 star before that even happened.
November 7, 2017
It took me awhile to get comfortable with VOICES IN THE DARK by Ulli Lust, adapting the novel by Marcel Beyer. It follows the aural experiments of a German officer during WWII and the family of the unnamed Nazi officer based on Hermann Goebbels. Those two storylines eventually connect in Hitler’s bunker as the Russians are bombing Berlin into oblivion. The art is both rough and painterly, beautifully crude, which comes together by the end to create a moving tapestry of loss. It’s an accomplishment that speaks to the medium’s ability to cannibalize literature and art to make something new, maybe not better, but able to deliver the story in ways neither could by itself.
December 14, 2017
Fascinating. I picked this up on a whim, and I am glad I did.
June 30, 2020
3.5 Stars!
“I have become a voice thief. With these tapes, I can reach into any man’s depths without his knowledge. I can extract anything from those depths and take possession of it, anything and everything down to the last, intimate breath exhaled by a dying man.”
This a semi-fictional account of the last days of Nazi Germany, with emphasis on the likes of Ludwig Stumpfegger (a Nazi doctor and later Hitler’s personal surgeon) who was with him at the end in the Fuhrerbunker in the bowels of Berlin. This is obviously a morbid and chilling affair that focuses on many aspects of Nazi German through the lens of something a little different.
I’m always interested in books which allow you to look at the mundane and every day in a totally refreshing or original light, and this does exactly that, in this case with the voice and acoustics. I enjoyed the art work well enough, but this reads like it was adapted from a novel (it was). The shape of it is a little uneven and baggy and doesn’t sit quite as nicely as you would like it to, but still, this is a strong and memorable story that is worth checking out.
“I have become a voice thief. With these tapes, I can reach into any man’s depths without his knowledge. I can extract anything from those depths and take possession of it, anything and everything down to the last, intimate breath exhaled by a dying man.”
This a semi-fictional account of the last days of Nazi Germany, with emphasis on the likes of Ludwig Stumpfegger (a Nazi doctor and later Hitler’s personal surgeon) who was with him at the end in the Fuhrerbunker in the bowels of Berlin. This is obviously a morbid and chilling affair that focuses on many aspects of Nazi German through the lens of something a little different.
I’m always interested in books which allow you to look at the mundane and every day in a totally refreshing or original light, and this does exactly that, in this case with the voice and acoustics. I enjoyed the art work well enough, but this reads like it was adapted from a novel (it was). The shape of it is a little uneven and baggy and doesn’t sit quite as nicely as you would like it to, but still, this is a strong and memorable story that is worth checking out.
November 20, 2017
Ummmm if you don't know the story of Goebbels 6 children, like, don't look it up ok. Cool. JEEZ. That was the heart of this story with also some weird semi-unrelated Nazi sinister audiology/recording/voice experiments. Urghhhh. Basically a different angle on the last days of the Third Reich. I'd say... go watch Downfall. That was amazing. This made me reflect on a lot of the same stuff - the nature of evil, the banality, the casualties of war and people who got off scotfree -- and like the whole defeated, depressed, chocolate nibbling Hitler is like... impossible to look away from? Why? Ugh.
But Lust is a masterful, squirm-inducing storyteller and artist, and this took you deeper and deeper in and then kept you there after it was over. Woof. She's pretty impressive.
But Lust is a masterful, squirm-inducing storyteller and artist, and this took you deeper and deeper in and then kept you there after it was over. Woof. She's pretty impressive.
November 5, 2019
I had no idea what I was getting into - I only picked this book up because Ulli Lust was involved. The story really took a while for me to get into, but once I did, I was pretty hooked. The book was disturbing for so many reasons - one of which being that while some horrific experiments are described and shown in terrible ways, the enormous horrors of Nazi atrocities are not captured. I don't think they should be in this context, but it's interesting to reflect on impressions of the end of the book in the context. The art was excellent throughout.
January 3, 2020
This is a fantastic graphic novel. It is a singular time when adaptation provides a vibrant infusion of depth to the emotions found in the original source material. In this case the original source material is novel Voices In The Dark by Marcel Beyer. Ulli Lust spearheads this infusion by drawing a moody atmosphere of impending doom into the visuals. The powerful impact of this graphic novel is riveting as you reach the conclusion.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
March 29, 2020
Wow! This is a great graphic that gives a unique, albeit limited, perspective on Nazi atrocities. The casual mention of horrors inflicted on victims of the Nazi regime really make for a dark novel that is slightly lifted by the intertwining of the stories of children. The darkness and impending doom of the characters does not really let up as the novel progresses.
June 14, 2019
I've read a lot of graphic novels with great art, and a lot of others with great writing. It's not often you find one with both. The watercolors are versatile enough to fit the mood from a scene of children playing to the bombing of Berlin.
November 3, 2017
I said two words when I finished this: wow. f*ck.
July 30, 2018
Amazing. As grim as it is fascinating. I don't want to mention anything about the story because I loved opening the book without remembering what it was about and finding out as I turned the pages.
February 22, 2024
3.5*
Svojho času, v dobách, keď som doslova fičala na drastických príbehoch nešťastníkov väznených v koncentračných táboroch či prostých jedincov vyrovnávajúcich sa s tragickými dopadmi druhej svetovej vojny, mi rukami prešlo nemalé množstvo srdcervúcich svedectiev - o strate blízkych, hrôzostrašných pokusoch či neľudských podmienkach, o nútených prácach, nekonečnom drile i zverstvách, pred ktorými nebolo úniku - a hoci by sa tak mohlo zdať, že ma už podobné knihy ničím nedokážu prekvapiť, opak sa stále ukazuje byť pravdou.
Výnimkou nie je ani grafický román Hlasy bez ozveny, svojská adaptácia rovnomenného titulu Marcela Beyera, približujúci fascinujúco-chaotický príbeh všakovakými ozvenami či zvukmi posadnutého inžiniera Hermanna Karnaua- chlapca, respektíve mladého muža, ktorému netradičná posadnutosť vyslúžila jednosmerný lístok na front, stranícke zhromaždeniai do vojnou poznačenej domácnosti samotného Josepha Goebbelsa, i príbeh nevinného detstva členov priam "démonickej" rodiny.
Zapálené prejavy vodcu i oduševnené hajlovanie, zvýšené hlasy, šepot i vzlykmi roztrasené hlasivky, nádychy, vzdychy a utrpením poznačené odfukovanie, strachom i bolesťou zafarbená kadencia...
Vďaka Lustovej znepokojujúcim ilustráciám, mapujúcim nie len Karnauovranný život, rodiacu sa fascináciu i obsesiou či možnosťou skúmať postupne sa vytrácajúce hlasy motivovanú príslušnosť k nacizmu, ale i osamelosťou, nedôverou či váhaním poznačené detstvo šiestich nevinných, čoraz väčšmi vystrašených detí, odhaľujeme nie len ďalšiu stránku sadistických pokusov ale i hrôzu, ktorá kúsok po kúsku zabila čistotu a nevinnosť.
Zverstvo za zverstvom, nechutnosť za nechutnosťou a k tomu farbistý obraz zdanlivo obyčajnej rodiny.
Hlasy bez ozveny sú svedectvom i chýbajúcim kúskom histórie, no čo viac, sú i obrazom približujúcim daň, ktorú si tragická minulosť vyžiadala. Spočiatku je to čítanie chaotické, trochu preskackavé a na prvý pohľad neusporiadané, no ak sa vám žiada trochu hnusu, stačí sa cez to preniesť a poriadne sa začítať.
Svojho času, v dobách, keď som doslova fičala na drastických príbehoch nešťastníkov väznených v koncentračných táboroch či prostých jedincov vyrovnávajúcich sa s tragickými dopadmi druhej svetovej vojny, mi rukami prešlo nemalé množstvo srdcervúcich svedectiev - o strate blízkych, hrôzostrašných pokusoch či neľudských podmienkach, o nútených prácach, nekonečnom drile i zverstvách, pred ktorými nebolo úniku - a hoci by sa tak mohlo zdať, že ma už podobné knihy ničím nedokážu prekvapiť, opak sa stále ukazuje byť pravdou.
Výnimkou nie je ani grafický román Hlasy bez ozveny, svojská adaptácia rovnomenného titulu Marcela Beyera, približujúci fascinujúco-chaotický príbeh všakovakými ozvenami či zvukmi posadnutého inžiniera Hermanna Karnaua- chlapca, respektíve mladého muža, ktorému netradičná posadnutosť vyslúžila jednosmerný lístok na front, stranícke zhromaždeniai do vojnou poznačenej domácnosti samotného Josepha Goebbelsa, i príbeh nevinného detstva členov priam "démonickej" rodiny.
Zapálené prejavy vodcu i oduševnené hajlovanie, zvýšené hlasy, šepot i vzlykmi roztrasené hlasivky, nádychy, vzdychy a utrpením poznačené odfukovanie, strachom i bolesťou zafarbená kadencia...
Vďaka Lustovej znepokojujúcim ilustráciám, mapujúcim nie len Karnauovranný život, rodiacu sa fascináciu i obsesiou či možnosťou skúmať postupne sa vytrácajúce hlasy motivovanú príslušnosť k nacizmu, ale i osamelosťou, nedôverou či váhaním poznačené detstvo šiestich nevinných, čoraz väčšmi vystrašených detí, odhaľujeme nie len ďalšiu stránku sadistických pokusov ale i hrôzu, ktorá kúsok po kúsku zabila čistotu a nevinnosť.
Zverstvo za zverstvom, nechutnosť za nechutnosťou a k tomu farbistý obraz zdanlivo obyčajnej rodiny.
Hlasy bez ozveny sú svedectvom i chýbajúcim kúskom histórie, no čo viac, sú i obrazom približujúcim daň, ktorú si tragická minulosť vyžiadala. Spočiatku je to čítanie chaotické, trochu preskackavé a na prvý pohľad neusporiadané, no ak sa vám žiada trochu hnusu, stačí sa cez to preniesť a poriadne sa začítať.
January 17, 2018
I picked this up solely because it was adapted/drawn by Ulli Lust (who's previous translated work, Today is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life, I enjoyed quite a bit). I otherwise had no clue what it was about.
The story follows two characters: Dr. Karnau, a sound engineer who's working with the Nazis, and Helga, the eldest daughter of one of Hitler's closest friends. Karnau's work leads him to conduct horrifying experiments on Jewish people (though this is never explicitly stated, so correct me if I'm wrong). Helga, though very privileged, experiences the effects the war is having on her family and begins to see through her parents' lies and facades.
Lust's art utilizes subdued colour palettes to highlight to dreary time the story is set. She also employs different lettering depending on who's narrating the story (the story is told in alternating POVs between Karnau and Helga). Helga's font is more lilted and childlike, whereas Karnau veers on the dense side. It's used to great effect and really helps orient the reader.
The story took a bit of time for me to get into. Karnau's overwrought descriptions of sounds and his obsessions with them had me scratching my head at first, but once Helga is introduced, things picked up. Karnau's storyline, while necessary to the tale being told, is not nearly as interesting as Helga's. The coming of age story she experiences (during war time) is hardly new, but Beyer pulls it off. The end knocked me completely on my ass, though it was pretty obvious that it was how things would end.
I know we're only three weeks in 2018, but I think this is one of the best things I'll read all year. I'm so glad I picked this up.
The story follows two characters: Dr. Karnau, a sound engineer who's working with the Nazis, and Helga, the eldest daughter of one of Hitler's closest friends. Karnau's work leads him to conduct horrifying experiments on Jewish people (though this is never explicitly stated, so correct me if I'm wrong). Helga, though very privileged, experiences the effects the war is having on her family and begins to see through her parents' lies and facades.
Lust's art utilizes subdued colour palettes to highlight to dreary time the story is set. She also employs different lettering depending on who's narrating the story (the story is told in alternating POVs between Karnau and Helga). Helga's font is more lilted and childlike, whereas Karnau veers on the dense side. It's used to great effect and really helps orient the reader.
The story took a bit of time for me to get into. Karnau's overwrought descriptions of sounds and his obsessions with them had me scratching my head at first, but once Helga is introduced, things picked up. Karnau's storyline, while necessary to the tale being told, is not nearly as interesting as Helga's. The coming of age story she experiences (during war time) is hardly new, but Beyer pulls it off. The end knocked me completely on my ass, though it was pretty obvious that it was how things would end.
I know we're only three weeks in 2018, but I think this is one of the best things I'll read all year. I'm so glad I picked this up.
November 20, 2017
This graphic novel follows the story of Hermann Karnau, who is obsessed with the noises of the universe, but particularly the noises of people. He records noises of all kinds, many of them gruesome, like the death rattles of soldiers dying on the battle field. He is given funding to pursue research on the voice and its part in creating the ideal Aryan, for he believes the soul is in the voice. His work brings him into the circle of Joseph Goebbels and his family, and the book splits into Hermann's memories and those of Helga Goebbels. This split shifts the focus from Hermann's work and makes the story more of a reflection of the German experience of the war, particularly the experience of a family who believed in Hitler to the end.
If I were to teach this book, I would consider the history classroom, of course, but also perhaps a speech/language/hearing course to discuss how research on the voice has progressed over time. It would not be appropriate for elementary-age children, but it would fit in a high school or college setting. I hope it would inspire further inquiry into the German experience of the war and perhaps how experiences varied vastly across classes. I think it leads well into discussions about the gruesome research experiences that were approved during this time, and whether any information of value came from that research.
If I were to teach this book, I would consider the history classroom, of course, but also perhaps a speech/language/hearing course to discuss how research on the voice has progressed over time. It would not be appropriate for elementary-age children, but it would fit in a high school or college setting. I hope it would inspire further inquiry into the German experience of the war and perhaps how experiences varied vastly across classes. I think it leads well into discussions about the gruesome research experiences that were approved during this time, and whether any information of value came from that research.
November 12, 2017
Fictional story of one of Hitler's guards' (Hermann Karnau) involvement with the Goebbels' children. Karnau, depicted as a scientist who cold-bloodedly experiments on animals and humans and obsessively records everything from death cries in the battlefields to the noises animals make in the night. In the story, he later discovers the recordings he made in secret of the Goebbel's children who were in the same bunker with Goebbels' make-shift office and Hitler, up to the day they were murdered by their parents who committed suicide. Mixing fiction with facts seamlessly, the story draws out the innocence of children in the middle of the horrific things happening around them. There are many subtle moments when the hypocrisy of the ruling regime is examined, and the daily (rather selfish-sounding, yet simply childish) needs and desires of the children is juxtaposed against the horrors of war.
Ulli Lust's style brings a certain eerie quality, especially to Karnau's sterile, ice-cold experiments. Though the art is probably not for everyone, it complements the story very well.
Recommended for those who are not sick of reading about WWII.
Ulli Lust's style brings a certain eerie quality, especially to Karnau's sterile, ice-cold experiments. Though the art is probably not for everyone, it complements the story very well.
Recommended for those who are not sick of reading about WWII.
February 16, 2018
A disturbing, claustrophobic graphic novel about a young German scientist in the last days of the Second World War. Obsessed with making sound recordings and with the human voice, Karnau seizes any opportunity to further his scientific pursuits, regardless of the human suffering this entails. He also encounters Josef Goebbels and his family - if you're unaware of how that all ends, you may want to leave it that way as you read. This was based on a German novel, and it's reflected in the complexity of the story. Dark, troubling, very good.
February 14, 2020
A beautiful novel, with an interesting subject, that works just as well as a graphic novel as a prose one. I wish there had been a little more explanation/exploration of Karnau's experiments and what exactly happened to the Goebbels children .
March 21, 2018
Somehow I went into reading this graphic novel cold, having no idea it would be about the Goebbels children and their ultimate murder. It took me a while to get used to this book but it is powerful. I don’t know that I could have made it through the original novel, just too harrowing.
January 16, 2020
You know, I thought this was really good. The art is fucking amazing, and it's a weird story. But then book club said Lust is a Nazi and I was like eek I should keep it to myself that I liked this. But I don't know if she's a Nazi! I don't know!! If I find out she is I'll take my stars away, OK?
March 22, 2021
A true horror story, as real and spooky as you get. The art is great, consistent, moody and capturing the essence of the amazing writing. Heartbreaking, appalling, tender. I am not sure why the horrors of World War 2 inspire such profound graphic novels, but I cannot recommend this highly enough.
July 16, 2020
Absolutely devastating. Darkest comic I have ever read and probably will ever read. Extremely artfully rendered. Sometimes cute, sometimes lovely, sometimes horrific. I haven't ever seen, since I read Blankets by Craig Thompson, any comic that so artfully and naturally blends text and image. You really do hear and even smell different scenes differently. Some of this is accomplished by different wash color. There are many entire pages that are almost crushingly dense with darkness, but you still can tell what's going on, feeling the condensing all around you.
This story follows a fictional acoustics expert who becomes employed by the NSDAP to study more and more terrifying theories. The story also follows the children of Josef Goebbels, chiefly through the "written diaries" of Helga, the eldest. You see the way their lives intersect with each other as the war winds to a close and the world they live in closes in around them.
While so much of the terror comes from the details, so much else of it comes in snippets that you fill in with your mind. Even more comes from aspects of the war (including the holocaust), which are never explicitly mentioned, but haunted the background and the silences.
If you feel you have the constitution, read this comic. You will never read another comic like it. I will never read this comic again, but it will stay with me for a long time. The closest thing to "horror" I have ever read, and I don't like scary stuff. I don't need to tell you the plot because we already know the story.
I'm about to put this comic in my car. I don't want it in my house before I go to sleep.
This story follows a fictional acoustics expert who becomes employed by the NSDAP to study more and more terrifying theories. The story also follows the children of Josef Goebbels, chiefly through the "written diaries" of Helga, the eldest. You see the way their lives intersect with each other as the war winds to a close and the world they live in closes in around them.
While so much of the terror comes from the details, so much else of it comes in snippets that you fill in with your mind. Even more comes from aspects of the war (including the holocaust), which are never explicitly mentioned, but haunted the background and the silences.
If you feel you have the constitution, read this comic. You will never read another comic like it. I will never read this comic again, but it will stay with me for a long time. The closest thing to "horror" I have ever read, and I don't like scary stuff. I don't need to tell you the plot because we already know the story.
I'm about to put this comic in my car. I don't want it in my house before I go to sleep.
May 23, 2023
I give this book five stars because I cannot give it less. But it is incredibly distressing. There are some ambiguities/unanswered questions, mainly to do with Karnau himself - the sound engineer who serves as commenter and filter for the narrative - and I wonder if they may be artifacts from the original book this GN adapts, ie. "The Karnau Tapes." I'm not sure I have the stomach to go read "The Karnau Tapes" any time soon, and I think those lingering questions contribute to an underlying mystery that serves the larger work. Ulli Lust is a tremendously accomplished artist and her shifting use of color as a tonal element is superb.
September 5, 2023
Book about the life and execution of Goebbler's children.
January 1, 2015
En 1995, M. Breyer publie un roman traduit deux ans plus tard en France intitulé "voix de la nuit" faisant dialoguer un homme et une jeune enfant Helga. Il s'agit d'une transcription sous forme de roman graphique par l'auteur et Ulli Lust de cette fiction.
Celle-ci met en scène Hermann Karnau, passionné d'acoustique, compilateur de sons dans l'Allemagne nazie en guerre. Il est chargé notamment de la sonorisation des meetings du parti Hitlerien. Sa quête de la perfection et sa compulsive obsession pour les bruits le fait entrer dans le cercle des proches d'Hitler et il participe alors aux projets raciaux du nazisme. Ainsi, Kranau mène des expériences sur des cobayes humains pour épurer la langue allemande dans sa composante vocale. Le son, la diction et la prononciation sont à la fois au service de la force du discours, outils de propagande et support d'une pseudo réflexion scientifique à visée politique : ils résument en qq sorte le projet nazi.
Proche de Goebbels Hermann Karnau est amené à se rapprocher de l'aînée des 6 enfants du ministre de la propagande et ce jusqu'à la chute du Reich en mai 45. C'est autour de l'assassinat des enfants dans le bunker que se tisse la trame entre fiction (via l'acoustique et les enregistrements qui servent ici d'archives) et l'histoire (les derniers jours des proches d'Hitler dans le bunker alors que les soviétiques s'emparent de Berlin).
Assez déroutant, on peut trouver l'œuvre même bavarde et s'étirant inutilement. Pourtant le roman graphique construit patiemment une ambiance autour de la folie "scientifique" des nazis mise au service d'un projet idéologique de domination/épuration/régénération de l'humanité suivant la trajectoire de Karnau, homme ordinaire mais savant fou du son, dans le sillage de Goebbels. C'est lui qui nous ouvre les portes de l'intimité du couple Goebbels jusqu'à sa chute et l'assassinat des enfants.
Une histoire habile, troublante, dérangeante mais très intéressante qui permet d'appréhender le projet politique hitlérien et son progressif naufrage. Celui-ci est d'autant plus incroyable à suivre qu'il s'habille d'un déni de réalité menant à une surenchère de l'horreur dont les derniers instants des enfants Goebbels dans le bunker sont une illustration assez parlante.
Celle-ci met en scène Hermann Karnau, passionné d'acoustique, compilateur de sons dans l'Allemagne nazie en guerre. Il est chargé notamment de la sonorisation des meetings du parti Hitlerien. Sa quête de la perfection et sa compulsive obsession pour les bruits le fait entrer dans le cercle des proches d'Hitler et il participe alors aux projets raciaux du nazisme. Ainsi, Kranau mène des expériences sur des cobayes humains pour épurer la langue allemande dans sa composante vocale. Le son, la diction et la prononciation sont à la fois au service de la force du discours, outils de propagande et support d'une pseudo réflexion scientifique à visée politique : ils résument en qq sorte le projet nazi.
Proche de Goebbels Hermann Karnau est amené à se rapprocher de l'aînée des 6 enfants du ministre de la propagande et ce jusqu'à la chute du Reich en mai 45. C'est autour de l'assassinat des enfants dans le bunker que se tisse la trame entre fiction (via l'acoustique et les enregistrements qui servent ici d'archives) et l'histoire (les derniers jours des proches d'Hitler dans le bunker alors que les soviétiques s'emparent de Berlin).
Assez déroutant, on peut trouver l'œuvre même bavarde et s'étirant inutilement. Pourtant le roman graphique construit patiemment une ambiance autour de la folie "scientifique" des nazis mise au service d'un projet idéologique de domination/épuration/régénération de l'humanité suivant la trajectoire de Karnau, homme ordinaire mais savant fou du son, dans le sillage de Goebbels. C'est lui qui nous ouvre les portes de l'intimité du couple Goebbels jusqu'à sa chute et l'assassinat des enfants.
Une histoire habile, troublante, dérangeante mais très intéressante qui permet d'appréhender le projet politique hitlérien et son progressif naufrage. Celui-ci est d'autant plus incroyable à suivre qu'il s'habille d'un déni de réalité menant à une surenchère de l'horreur dont les derniers instants des enfants Goebbels dans le bunker sont une illustration assez parlante.
May 13, 2020
I really enjoyed this one.
The angle from which the story is told is very unusual and original: Sound. And the comic seems to capture the spirit very well, although I haven't read the original story to be able to compare it properly.
I think the text and the images combine really nicely, even though there's a lot of text (necessary to the story and its tone). Words, colors, the pages layout, lines and shapes, come together to deliver a well delivered exercise in visual language. It seemed to me that the author put a lot of attention to every single page, and how to make it unique.
Also, I really liked some choices regarding full pages illustrations and abstract images, to get the desired effect and mood.
The narrative is hypnotic as well. An immersive, unpredictable tale around the end of WW2. As unpredictable as it can be, based on real facts. The way of narrating the facts was the key element.
I loved it. I will definitely look for more Ulli Lust and I will recommend this comic. I'm glad I found it.
The angle from which the story is told is very unusual and original: Sound. And the comic seems to capture the spirit very well, although I haven't read the original story to be able to compare it properly.
I think the text and the images combine really nicely, even though there's a lot of text (necessary to the story and its tone). Words, colors, the pages layout, lines and shapes, come together to deliver a well delivered exercise in visual language. It seemed to me that the author put a lot of attention to every single page, and how to make it unique.
Also, I really liked some choices regarding full pages illustrations and abstract images, to get the desired effect and mood.
The narrative is hypnotic as well. An immersive, unpredictable tale around the end of WW2. As unpredictable as it can be, based on real facts. The way of narrating the facts was the key element.
I loved it. I will definitely look for more Ulli Lust and I will recommend this comic. I'm glad I found it.
abandoned
July 11, 2020graphic fiction/adaptation of historic novel by Marcel Beyer--Karnau is a man obsessed with recording all kinds of sounds including those of people being tortured, agrees to work for Nazis in order to escape military duty, and eventually becomes familiar with Goebbel's family; the second narrative is told by Goebbel's 14/15-y.o. daughter Helga.
I read to p. 152 but got tired of skimming over Karnau's exhaustive descriptions, and the disturbing circumstances. Helga's narrative is easier to read, but it's still a very grim story, takes a long time to develop, and given the subject and writing style, I'm not sure I can ever really get into it. I could maybe finish this another time (it's apparently well done for the story that it tells), but my faith in humanity is already pretty shaky right now (July 2020) and it's just too depressing for me to read at this time.
I read to p. 152 but got tired of skimming over Karnau's exhaustive descriptions, and the disturbing circumstances. Helga's narrative is easier to read, but it's still a very grim story, takes a long time to develop, and given the subject and writing style, I'm not sure I can ever really get into it. I could maybe finish this another time (it's apparently well done for the story that it tells), but my faith in humanity is already pretty shaky right now (July 2020) and it's just too depressing for me to read at this time.
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