Chicks On Lit discussion

Our Classic group read for March is Little Man, What Now? by Hans Fallada.

The schedule is based on this edition:


It has wide margins and slightly larger-than-normal font. The schedule may sound daunting but I don't think it'll be hard to keep up because of these two facts but if it is, we'll adjust to add another week of reading.

We'll start reading on March 1st and discussing throughout the week.

March 1 - 7: Read pages 3 - 111 (Prelude and Part One)
March 8 - 14: Read pages 115 - 226 (Part Two - Chapters 1 - 16; Pinneberg pays a visit and lets himself be tempted towards nudism)
March 15 - 21: Read pages 227 - 334 (Part Two - Chapters 17; What Pinneberg thought about nudism and what Frau Nothnagel thought about it - 29)
March 22 - 28: Read pages 337 - 383 (Epilogue)
March 29 - 31 (and beyond?): Discussion continues

How does this schedule sound? I kept it to a 4-week interval but we could expand that, if the schedule sounds daunting. We've got as much time as we'd like to take for this.
This will be the first book I read written by Hans Fallada. Has anyone read anything by him before?

Petra, the chapters in my copy are not numbered, just given titles. Can you tell me what the name of chapter 16 or 17 is so I know the cut off point?

Done! Now I'm totally intrigued....I hadn't read the chapter titles before. There's nudism??!!! Hahaha, we may be in for a scintillating read.

Yes, they are certainly interesting and unique chapter titles! It has me curious now too!

I just put in an ILL request at the library, so I should get it by next weekend and be ready to join in.

I read just a few pages (maybe 20 or so) of Every Man Dies Alone and was really enjoying it, but just didn't have time to read it all. Fallada was briefly mentioned in In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin as allowing Himler (maybe? or Goebbels? I don't remember which one) to rewrite the ending of at least one of his books to avoid trouble with the Nazis.

I was just reading his goodreads' author info- holy cow! What a troubled young man!

I have never read anything by this author, and really knew nothing about him, but after Jennifer's last comment I had to go read his author information here on Goodreads. I agree with her comment - Holy Cow!

I picked up my copy last night, but I didn't have a chance to mark out the sections. I'm sure it'll be a fine reading schedule.

Just downloaded the Kindle version - looking forward to reading this!

I just read his life story. Wow! The poor man was plagued with difficulties.

I gave up reading Erik Larson's books, Jennifer, after reading In The Garden of Beasts. It wasn't my first book by him and I never enjoyed any of them.....found them titillating and gossipy. It's a shame because I really like true-life stories of the kind he writes.

I'm looking forward to reading this book in this group. It's sitting beside the couch and I'm itching to start it.

I'm ready to start reading this weekend. Anyone going to join me?

I've been itching to start this one. I have a pretty busy weekend, but I hope to at least crack it open in the next few days!

I'm finishing up another book (hopefully today) and will start this one next.

I'm starting tonight!

I started this book mid week. My plan was to read just the section for the week's discussion, then move on to the Luminaries. But, I could not put it down. Three days later, Little Man is completely finished and the Luminaries just starting.

Wow! I'm glad to hear that it's a "not put downable" book, Irene. I hope you'll join in the discussions.

Well, it was like that for me, anyway. I thought the characters were well crafted in relatively spare strokes. It was both tragic and hope filled at the same time.

Okay, I started, and I have to agree with Irene that it is a very engrossing story. My book had a long (25 page or so) introduction with a lot of history on the author and his other works, which was pretty dull, but then when I started the story itself I found it very amusingly written, and it sucked me right in! It is not at all what I was expecting.

Me neither. I thought it was going to be a war story. I feel as if I have read so many WW2 stories lately that I almost dropped out of this discussion. I am so glad that I did not.

I thought it was going to be a war story too, Irene! And dark, and dreary, and depressing! LOL

Ooh, it's *not* dark and depressing? That's what I was expecting... I've got a little bit of another book to finish up, but I hope to at least start this one tonight.

Depressing.... Well, I would say yes and no. But, I have finished and I don't want to give anything away.

I haven't finished (am only still in this weeks section) and while I can see that there are going to be depressing events in this story, for me it is not written in a dark depressing way. In fact I am finding myself chuckling while reading it, at the interactions between our two main characters.

:) Thanks, ladies. I read chapter 1 last night, and yes, I think we've got some characters in our main characters!

Well, I've started and I think I'm going to like this book.
The tone and/or style of the writing and the unpreparedness for Life of the couple reminds me of The Beautiful and Damned. It'll be interesting to see whether the similarity that I'm seeing right now remains.

I read some more last night, we met the parents! Haha. I don't know if I would have seen that similarity, Petra, but now that you mention it, these two do feel like they're in over the heads in the same clueless way.

Wasn't that a fun scene?! Mama knows all. LOL!
What a strange family.

Just wait until you meet his side.

He's a strange one, for sure. The train station scene was bizarre. I wonder what he's hiding......tonight's reading may tell all. :D

I am finding the relationships and reactions of all the characters to be very amusing! I can only imagine what other 'unique' people we will be meeting.

Good comparison Petra to Beautiful and Damned.

Now I just can't read fast enough. Wish I could drop everything and just read!

I'm really liking this book so far. I'm not sure what we know about things yet. This first section is quite the set-up for something, don't you think?

Bunny comes from s family situation that she seems to just want to escape from. With that in mind, does she love Pinneberg or does she want to escape her family?

Pinneberg's work situation is bizarre, rather deflating for the ego and takes away from the man's self-esteem and sense of confidence. Imagine being employed because you're single and the owner has a single daughter! How demoralizing to not be able to announce to your world that you're in love and have gotten married!
Is Pinneberg in love? He seems to be, it seems.

Jobs. They seem scarce. Everyone is afraid of losing their job.

Having been in Berlin, it's an expensive city. I wonder if it was more reasonable in the years before the war. If not, the Pinnebergs may be in for a rude awakening. Luckily, they have some family support there.

I am enjoying the style of the book. It's light yet still gets across the naiveté of both Bunny and Pinneberg. Neither one seems prepared for a future together....unless everything works out well, that is. They seem clueless about the problems that Life could send their way.

I'm looking forward to the next section.

It may be worthwhile to mention a few things about Germany at the time that this novel was written. I only know the very basics of this time....hopefully, I won't get too much wrong. :D

As I understand it, the years before Hitler's rise were years of desperation for Germans. They were commissioned by some World Committee to pay the expenses incurred by other countries in WWI. Therefore, the people worked but the majority of their tax dollars went to pay these costs, leaving not much for the German people. This led to high, high inflation where a loaf of bread could cost hundreds of mark in the morning and thousands of mark by evening. It was an impossible time to keep your head afloat, money-wise.
It was a lot because of this instability and poverty that Hitler rose to power. His promises of food, job and cars were tantalizing to people who hadn't the means to live a basic life.

So far, in our story, things don't seem that grim. People are still working and paying their bills, although just barely. Bunny mentions "the inflation" when their landlady cries about having had her money stolen, so that seems to have begun. If so, things will get very hard for everyone soon.

Sonny seems more timid than Lamchen. He does not want to confront anyone. He is afraid of his former employer and his present one, afraid of the landlady and his colleagues. Lamchen is the one who is upset by that crazy room they are renting. But, even though she is willing to break the lease, she backs down in the face of real confrontation. These two seem too sheltered for their own good.

I am surprised not to read more mentions of the Great War.

Good observations, Irene. Both of them are placid in their own ways.
Wasn't the Great War many years before this setting? This is set in the early 1930s; WWI was 1914-18. How old are our couple? Bunny is younger than 20, I think. They may have been born around the end of the war. In that sense, the war hasn't impacted their lives in any way and would then perhaps be a non-entity in this story?

I guess I expected that the ravages of war would still be haunting German society. I expected disabled vets, bombed out buildings, resentment of the demands placed on Germany by the victors to just be part of the background.

So it seems that these two are as foolish with their money and what they spend it on as many people are today. Lambchen wants all the best, all the newest things, more things for the kitchen, more things for the baby, more things for their room, things, items, and Sonny wants to give them to her, yet they are poor and really don't even have enough to support themselves, yet they seem to be foolishly coveting items, and not necessities.

It's amazing how a book this old is still relevant. It shows that some things about human nature don;t change.

I agree!

I finished the first section last night. I'm curious as to what life will be like with Pinneberg's mom! I am glad they're getting out of that room, that landlady seemed like a case!

Are they in love with each other? I definitely think Sonny is, but I don't know about Lammchen. She seems very young and immature. Sonny's a bit better, but they both have a lot of growing up to do.

I did not see them as foolish with their money, not at this point. Lamchen wants pots and a cradle, not new clothes or fine china. I can't imagine living in the limited circumstances they inhabit. They don't even have a sink. I don't think that two pots is extravagance. She only knows how to keep house by what she has observed her mother doing. Sonny doesn't see the need for cooking items because he has never cooked for himself, not because he is frugal. He has no idea what it takes to cook a meal.

I agree with Irene. These are two young, inexperienced, naïve people who married and are expecting a child. Goodness!....they can't even take care of themselves yet and they are going to be responsible for another life.....and in very, very difficult economic times. This is not going to be easy or, even, a usual growing-up experience. The economics of the times will surely make Life a more difficult circumstance than it would normally be for 2 naïve people.
What they seem to want is a job, a home and a few pots & pans.

Our editions are different. I noticed that you're all calling Bunny Lamchen. LOL!

LOL, I was wondering where the "Bunny" came from.

Bunny must be the Anglicized version of Lammchen, which is German for "Little Lamb." My version uses the German, also.

I finished our second section of reading last night. I have to say that I'm impressed with Pinneberg and Bunny. Under "normal" circumstances, they would do well. It's only the economical circumstances of their time that is holding them back.

Bunny seems to be coming into her own and getting quite strong. Pinneberg seems more timid and afraid but he's the breadwinner and under a lot of stress at work to lose his job.

I like how, despite the hard times, they don't forget about the nice things in life. Bunny adds a line for Flowers in their tight budget. I thought that was sweet.

The dresser episode was also a win-win, in its way. Sure it was extravagant for their means but they didn't pay his mother any rent and, in the end, I think they came away ahead of the game, moneywise. The dresser cost a bit more than a month's rent but their rent was paid for by his mother's boyfriend (can't remember his name at the moment)......so, it's a wash and a break-even item, as far as their budget goes.

Things are about to get really interesting now.....nudism!!! LOL!

I am more and more impressed with Lamchen. Her family was so harsh, but she is so gentle. She does not lose her temper with Sonny's mother. Despite knowing how financially stupid that dresser is, she does not blow up at Sonny, but receives it with the tenderness in which it was given. She makes the best of every awful situation. She is strong in her determination to provide for the family. She braves all the rejection and the discomfort of that apartment hunt in her pregnant state. She does not complain about climbing a ladder to get to the apartment.

And, yes, that naturalist group is a hoot.

The apartment with the ladder leading to it is interesting (like a big kid tree house!) yet I'm not sure how that will work trying to climb up and down it with a new born baby, let alone if they are still there when the baby starts to walk. Yikes!

I got to the part last night of buying the dresser. Jachmann is an interesting guy. Is he a flake or is he a nice guy? What's in it for him with helping out our young couple?

So far, this whole book reminds me of a set of poems I read in high school English. I haven't the slightest idea of what they were called or who wrote them, so I beg pardons on that. One was written by a man to his love and basically it was all about how we'll run away together and the grass will be our bed, the wildlife our neighbors, the stars our entertainment. 100 years or so later, a woman poet wrote a response and said, yeah, but how will we eat? who's going to do the laundry? there's rocks in the grass. it'll get cold at night. etc, and basically aren't you an idiot for thinking that's all we need! Lammchen and Sonny remind me so much of those poems!

Yeah, I've wondered about Jachmann, too. He "works" and lives with Sonny's mother, who seems to be pimping girls from her living room for the cash she needs to live on....how is Jachmann thriving from this "business"? Is he the head of this "business"? Why help the couple? Is Bunny a prospective girl?
But there are no negative motives as far as we know. He's coming across as a good guy. But does he have a motive??

That's a good memory, Jennifer. Those poems do sound like our couple.

Sheila, I remember my parents talking about how hard it was to find housing in Germany after the war. I wonder if it was that hard before the war as well, in which case, any alcove could be altered into an apartment. The Germans have "portable" kitchens: when they move residents, the kitchen usually moves with them (cupboards, sink, appliances, everything). It doesn't happen that often anymore but it was a common practice. That would mean that installing a kitchen into an alcove could be done fairly easily.
Their apartment sounded really cozy, though, once they moved in.

I think Jachmann is just a generally nice guy. Whatever illegal activity he and Sonny's mother are doing does not alter his self-image as a good sort of person. I suspect he figures that no one is being hurt by what they are doing to make money.