Nosferatu

by Jim Shepard, Ron Hansen (Introduction)

From this prodigiously talented writer comes a stunningly original fictional life of the German director F. W. Murnau (1888–1931). Murnau ranks as a founding father of the cinema, not least for his legendary horror film, Nosferatu . Here he is revealed as a hermetic genius who turns against himself, becoming in a sense his own vampire. What shadows Jim Shepard’s Murnau—through the airfields of the Great War to Berlin in the twenties and to the virtual invention of filmmaking—is the conflict between his impossibly high ideals and his heartbreaking memories of love betrayed and love lost. From provincial Germany through Hollywood in its early days to the South Seas, Nosferatu charts a life at once artistic, intellectual, and deeply human. Ron Hansen provides an introduction to this Bison Books edition.

Genres: Fiction, Horror, Vampires, Film, Historical Fiction, Novels, Classics

216 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 1998

About the author

Jim Shepard is the author of seven novels, including most recently The Book of Aron, which won the Sophie Brody Medal for Achievement in Jewish Literature from the American Library Association and the PEN/New England Award for fiction, and five story collections, including his new collection, The World To Come. Five of his short stories have been chosen for the Best American Short Stories, two for the PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, and one for a Pushcart Prize. He teaches at Williams College.

Reviews

[Tracy Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very lucky to have read two books last year that surprised and delighted me. And by coincidence, or maybe not, they both involve vampires in their own way. This was one of them. A slim volume, this is fictional biography of the great director FW Murnau.
I could say that the book had me at its title or its cover photo but as we all know we can't judge a vampire by it's reflection... or lack there of.
I was enchanted by the first sentence and my interest and joy in reading only grew. We first learn about Murnau in his youth, his family life and his first love affair with the boy who would be the love of his life, his own personal vampire that would haunt him until his death.
There's no great insight into what made Murnau such a transcendent film director. In fact he mainly seems unsure of himself and nervous. He gives most of the credit to his crew and his cinematographer, the famous, and notorious, Karl Freund.
What we see is a view of the great artists of the time, such as Murnau's mentor, the visionary theater director Max Reinhardt. We see the painters, the writers, the poets, and the actors-most notably the transcendent Conrad Viedt. We see the young man whose lives were changed, ruined, and many that were ended by the first world war. And we see FW Murnau, the World War I fighter pilot whose films still reach out to us. Because this biography is fictional we see all of this through a window of unclear, and perhaps unclean glass. It makes no matter, vampires are never viewed clearly but they are all the more powerful for that, as is this book.

[Bandit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nosferatu the movie is an undeniable classic of macabre. Shadow of the Vampire (aka the making of Nosferatu is also exceptionally good, albeit possibly not a proper classic, it may certainly be classified as a cult classic. Nosferatu the book left a lot to be desired. It’s difficult to criticize a fictional biography because not only are you commenting on someone’s writing, you’re commenting on someone’s life also. Murnau was an important director of his time, but his directorial skills are not in question here. In fact, some of the most interesting chapters of this book are the ones dedicated to shooting the movies and Shephard as a cinema studies professor really knows what he’s talking about, but as a person Murnau doesn’t really cut an especially interesting figure. Very much a product of his time, he plays around In Berlin during the prewar carefree decadence, then goes to war, then comes out on the other end a more solemn man shaped by personal tragedy and goes on to direct movies. The tragedy is death of the love of his life, which left Murnau forever trying to rebound with a series of catamites. Yes, apparently Murnau was gay and also exceptionally tall and his birth name was Plumpe. What he wasn’t, at least according to this book, is an especially nice or charismatic or interesting person. Presented here as somewhat of a clichéd moody brooding director he lived a mainly disagreeable life, which came to a tragic end at a fairly early age of 42. So that’s on Murnau. On Shephard’s writing…well, the main thing here is how uneven the book was. Told through third person narration and intermittent first person epistolary style diary entries and then letters, it seems that the author was trying for a more immersive experience, but ended up with a book that reads like it wasn’t sure of what it wanted the narrative to be like. The writing itself is decent enough, but overall it didn’t really work for me as a story. And so there it is the man and his story. I didn’t care for either. It was a learning experience and interesting enough (at times) as a work of historical fiction, but not a very compelling or satisfying read. But at least a quick one.

[Adriana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book would be about Nosferatu the vampire and how he terrorizes people. I wasn’t expecting a book about developing the concept of Nosferatu…..

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly a classic i loved as much as my mom It was the beggining of vampires.Count orlok RuLeZ

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lonely book. A book you hold tight to your chest.

[Bryan Cebulski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disaffected almost to a fault, but brilliant. Like good god, there will be these long, languid passages where nothing much moves or happens and suddenly it'll hit you with a line like, "Hans is your obsession. I'm just the Catamite who assists you in all your ceremonies of regret."

I love how it moves from this Isherwood-meets-Bret Easton Ellis style tale of debauched gays in Weimar Germany to a sparse, interior journey through Murnau's increasing emotional suppression and immersion in his work. It gets to the point where the novel sounds more like production notes than a narrative, until the grief finally catches up with the disillusionment in the Tabu section.

Swaps back and forth between the first- and third-person really effectively.

Great ending that manages to be intentionally dissatisfying. Those letters!

Definitely learn a little bit about Murnau and watch a few of his movies first. Especially Nosferatu, The Last Laugh and Tabu. Shepard may have gotten a bit too deep into his research with this one in a way that alienates the uninitiated. Then again all art is kinda dependent upon its reference points for you to understand and appreciate it. I dunno, fair warning.

[Tamm Caluza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Went on extensive research on how the movie came to be. read and watched the film dracula (1931) years ago before the film Nosferatu (2024) and of course this book (1998) and also watched the OLD FILM from idk what year like 1922? after watching the new one and its just one of those things i decided to nerd out on for film, storyline and framing AND history purposes.

This book was great for learning! additional info to a niche topic that I still don't know why I needed to know.

Yipeee! keeping my feet in the blankets tonight though.

[Goodness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who can answer this question? send me a reply. Pls and thank you
As we mentioned, F.W. Murnau did NOT give Bram Stoker any credit when he adapted Dracula to the screen. He thought he made enough changes for it to not count as the original story. Do you believe Murnau made enough changes to not give Stoker any credit for the original story? Why or Why not? In 2-3 complete paragraphs, please explain your response

[Garrett Rowlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting read but I found the approach to be less than what I expected, that is, how Murnau's films actually got made, despite some information on the making of The Last Man. Instead, too much on his personal life. And maybe too episodic in presentation.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would put 3.5 if it were possible.

[Camila Gil · Rating 1 out of 5]

Where is Sponge Bob?

[bitterheat · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Soon I will be no more a shadow to you. Your spirit was never enough. Soon our flesh shall embrace and we shall be as one."

[Judy Mann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay. I'm packing it in with this guy. I have no idea what he's talking about. Not a clue. Here I am at page 109 and I am tired and weary.I have to read every sentence three times and even then I don't understand a word.
I had read his short story about Chernobyl and I was taken by it.I went to the library and took out all his books. And now, like I said, I am tired and I am weary. Research is one thing, (which he has done at great length)- but this is so many entangled sentences and assumed thoughts- that I have no idea what the hell he's doing. I don't know who this guy is writing for but it sure as hell ain't me.JM

[Angela Maass · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fue una experiencia distinta a lo que esperaba. Me encontré con una novela profunda, melancólica y llena de humanidad, muy lejos de una historia típica de terror. Me conmovió mucho la manera en que Shepard retrata la vida de F. W. Murnau, el director de la película original, mostrándolo como un hombre atormentado por sus deseos, su arte y las circunstancias históricas que lo rodearon. La narrativa me pareció íntima, triste y bellamente escrita. Fue uno de esos libros que te invitan a reflexionar más allá de la historia misma, y que se quedan contigo por un buen tiempo.

[Richbern · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.
A partly-fictionalized story of famed 1920s German director FW Murnau, whose most famous film was Nosferatu. What the book did well was expertly capture a time and place--1910s and 1920s Berlin, and deliver an interesting technical treatise on the early days of filmmaking. What the book did not do was craft a story that was even marginally interesting. The author never captured a single character's essence, and made a fascinating milieu utterly boring.

[Ricardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great, great book. Very pleasantly surprised. I give it a 4.5 but this thing does not allow 1/2 stars.

[Adrienne Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though very interesting at points this book lacks narrative cohesion. Not Shepard's best work.

[Noran Miss Pumkin]

might get it for my halloween read.

[Beth Shields-Szostak]

2nd printing, signed by author

[Alexia · Rating 5 out of 5]

couldn't put it down.

[MrLinderIPresume · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, horrific and beautiful!

[Penny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fun premise. Didn't enjoy the book.