The German Comedy: Scenes of Life After the Wall

by Peter Schneider, Philip Boehm, Leigh Hafrey

A tour of Germany after reunification provides anecdotes of the West German people, an East German baker, Bavarian yodelers, Stalinist functionaries, and Western capitalists

Genres: Nonfiction, German Literature, Germany, History

211 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Peter Schneider is a German novelist. His novel Lenz, published in 1973, had become a cult text for the Left, capturing the feelings of those disappointed by the failure of their utopian revolt. Since then, Peter Schneider has written novels, short stories and film scripts, that often deal with the fate of members of his generation. Other works deal with the situation of Berlin before and after German reunification. Schneider is also a major Essayist; having moved away from the radicalism of 1968, his work now appears predominantly in bourgeois publications.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to read 30 years after the Wall came down, and 29 years after German reunification. Schneider's report was written in the wake of the euphoria of November 1989, and at a time when some of the attendant issues were starting to be recognized. The comments and analysis of anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism constitute eerie foreshadowing.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, if you are interested in what was going on in Germany in the period after the wall came down in 1989. So it was worth a read for me, having lived in Germany for 4 years, and still having an interest in it.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite quote in the book, using the adjustment of the Eastern German Shephards as a metaphor for the integration of the people from the East:

"The dispute has now died down. Almost all the border dogs have been successfully adopted, and there's little talk of problems of integration. Many of the new arrivals who first reacted to canned food in all its Western variety with upturned noses or even diarrhea have successfully adjusted. They are no longer afraid of unknown canine species and have stopped running away at the sight of miniature poodles wearing knitted caps and leather jackets. Almost all are proving themselves willing to learn, even to the point of understanding commands in dialects other than Saxon."

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The description promised scenarios but there was more analysis and philosophizing than scenarios. It was somewhat interesting to see commentary on the immediate period after the fall of the wall, but now with 25 years hindsight it's more interesting to know how things actually turned out.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting and occasionally humorous commentary of life after the Berlin wall came down.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter or my brother in law recommended this to me. It was a wonderful way to understand the stories of how the fall of the wall affected peoples lives.

[Courtney Kane · Rating 3 out of 5]

"But perhaps this story is only a legend--like the Wall itself."

[grundoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essays primarily addressing identity and unification, penned when the events were current.