NYRB Classics discussion

[This is the Topic for the January/February read of book:Effingers|223641781] by Gabriele Tergit translated
by Sophie Duvernoy 864pp

Three generations of German Jewish family undergo the tumult, upheaval, and brutality of nineteenth- and twentieth-century history in this panoramic and skillfully nuanced family drama, rich with gossip and incident, capturing a Germany now lost to time.

Gabriele Tergit’s Effingers is a novel both epic and intimate as it chronicles the lives and fates of three generations of a German Jewish family. Beginning from 1878—the year after the narrative of Buddenbrooks ends—and ending in 1948, we follow the Effingers, a family of modest craftsmen from southern Germany, who are joined through marriage to two families of high-society financiers in Berlin, the Goldschmidts and the Oppners.

The Effingers soon rise to prominence as one of the most important German industrialist families in Berlin, but with the outbreak of World War I, they fall on hard times, and must then navigate the tumultuous changes of the Weimar Republic.

Full of parties and drama and the most delicious gossip, and featuring a kaleidoscopic cast of unforgettable characters, Effingers is a vibrant and keenly observed account of German Jewish life in all its richness and complexity. Tergit’s journalistic precision and limpid prose dazzle in Sophie Duvernoy’s elegant, fluid translation.

Criminally underrated when it first came out in 1951, and only in recent years undergoing rediscovery, Effingers is a searching meditation on identity and nationality that establishes Tergit as one of the most significant writers of the twentieth century.

I will not begin this novel till January but thought I would open the topic to post the review from The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

I started a few days ago and am about 120 pages (or 20%) in. Indeed, lots of parties, strong characters, I am reminded of Elsa Morante at times also because we read it at the same period last year.

But this also quite interesting perspectives on the economy - it's still the 1880s in Bismarck Germany, but the debates about industrialisation (compared to todays debates on German deindustrialisation), mass production vs tailor-made, support existing sectors vs betting on new ones are all fascinating given this was written in the 1950s and not today.

Reviews:
M.A Orthofer from The Complete Review blog always gives information packed reviews with links to reviews as well. I won't read the review till finished but this will be my first stop after.

https://www.complete-review.com/revie...

This review from the Wiener holocaust Library has links for further reading on subject:

https://wienerholocaustlibrary.org/20...


https://www.thejc.com/life/books/good...

https://inotherworlds.org/the-effinge...

Biography of Tergit:

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/...

Video lecture on book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRS6F...

Just received my book and looking forward to it! It's been a long time since I've read a long novel and I hope we can keep a discussion going on this one as we go along.

I just began the novel today. Since we are extending the novel over two months, I will probably read a few chapters every day or so. Today I read the first 10 chapters. I was just trying to get acquainted with the author's style and approach but I enjoyed the period descriptions of Germany and like Ruben the discussion of industrialization as industry is moving from a traditionally skill based practice to that of a numbers driven mass production with the main intent on profit. But what lingers most is the sense of foreboding, since we know from history what is yet to come. Feel free to add observations as we go along. I have a busy month so my read is for pleasure. I won't be doing a study of the novel or dig too deep when confronted with material I don't fully understand, so all thoughts are welcome.

I'm about that far in also. At this point, it seems to be just setting the stage. It will be interesting to see if they can make a screw factory exciting or dramatic!

Great you have started. I actually just finished today. I won't spoil, except to say that it is a FANTASTIC novel and I am so glad I read it. It will stay with me for a very long time.

This sounds like a fascinating and important novel, but I have The Oppermans and I don’t know when I would get to it or the even longer Effingers, but Ruben’s comments are making it hard to resist.