Parting: A Novel

by Sebastian Haffner, Michael Hofmann (Translator)

Parting is a lighthearted yet melancholic love story of the last precious hours before exile, fascism and war.

The young legal trainee Raimund travels from Berlin to Paris to visit his girlfriend, the lively and free-spirited Teddy. It is the interwar period, a time when life still sparkles.

Together with Teddy's colorful entourage - the charming bon vivant Franz, the serious Mademoiselle Gault, the eccentric Mr. Andrews, and a motley crew of artists and lost souls - they roam through Parisian cafés and restaurants, celebrating their freedom, aware that nothing will stay as it is.

In this way a day and night full of lightness and longing unfold, with the inevitable farewell ever-present in their minds.

W&N Essential, translated by Michael Hofmann

Genres: France

192 pages, Paperback

Expected publication July 20, 2027

About the author

Sebastian Haffner (the pseudonym for Raimund Pretzel) was a German journalist and author whose focus was the history of the German Reich (1871-1945). His books dealt with the origins and course of the First World War, the failure of the Weimar Republic and the subsequent rise and fall of Nazi Germany under Hitler.

In 1938 he emigrated from Nazi Germany with his Jewish fiancée to London, hardly able to speak English but becoming rapidly proficient in the language. He adopted the pseudonym Sebastian Haffner so that his family back in Germany would not be endangered by his writing.

Haffner wrote for the London Sunday newspaper, The Observer, and then became its editor-in-chief. In 1954, he became its German correspondent in Berlin, a position which he kept until the building of the Berlin Wall.

He wrote for the German newspaper, Die Welt, until 1962, and then until 1975 was a columnist for the Stern magazine. Haffner was a frequent guest on the television show Internationaler Frühschoppen and had his own television program on the German channel, Sender Freies Berlin.

Reviews

[Isabelle Sim · Rating 4 out of 5]

didn’t enjoy this as much as i thought i would from the blurb? there’s a lot of bits in between where it does seem like i needed to have already read stuff he previously wrote to catch up on the friendship contexts? ending was very moving as expected though

[Tolkien InMySleep · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

A young German man in Paris during the 1930's comes to terms with the end of a relationship as he must return to Berlin. Uncomfortably reminiscent of many of my own thoughts and feelings over my romances at a similar age, with all the petty jealousies and immaturity.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was irritating and charming, parts he wrote beautifully and I feel the heartache after.

[Andrew Pickering · Rating 2 out of 5]

The proprietor of our local bookshop recommended this to me. He told me that I would really enjoy it; I did not. It is beautifully written and poignant. The setting, Paris in 1932, is evocative and especially so as the principal protagonists are German at a time just before the Nazis came to power. The title 'Parting' sums up what the novella is about, the separation of the main characters as one remains in Paris and the other returns to Berlin. That apart, very little actually happens.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional -- a book about everything and nothing. The hands of the clock never do quit tightening!

I stumbled upon Parting at Daunt in London, but the book doesn't seem to be available in the US until next year.

[Christine Manegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had some insufferable but realistic characters and but understandable from the angst and confusion of both young love and impending bc war. Overall charming and definitely felt the squeeze of time near the end

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tremendous love story of young people set in Paris, rich in description of the city and the story's characters, it is a joy to read. Reminds me in some aspects of a Jack Kerouac but much better written. Made all the better by being a true story. Well worth a read.