Andreas Austilat

Chock o'block with information on Twain's time in Berlin, full of photographs and pictures of relevant sites/places/people, I thoroughly enjoyed this slim book! I honestly can't imagine a better resource for this period in Mark Twain's life. Every bit was well-researched and well-written (if sometimes a bit too academic - but that's a small thing) and covered every aspect of the time and place. Really interesting and wonderful, and it's made me want to read more Twain, especially his recently published autobiographies.

Many thanks to Berlinica and LT for this Early Reviewers copy!… (altro)

Perhaps I had the wrong impression of A Tramp in Berlin. It's subtitle is what got me: New Mark Twain Stories. I supposed this meant the book would consist of, well, new Mark Twain stories. What I found instead was a second-hand account of Twain's visit to Berlin during 1891 and 1892. There were a few pages of original Twain material, but they did not amount to much. A short description of his first flat and the ordeal of obtaining it (this was actually quite humorous), a 3 page excerpt of a posthumously published story, a draft of a chapter of an unfinished manuscript, and an excerpt from a newspaper story of Twain's impressions of Berlin. The back of the book and the blurb published on Library Thing's Early Reviewer page (through which I obtained my copy) also emphasize the assemblage of Twain's unpublished Berlin stories and imply that Andreas Austilat's account is merely supplementary, although the latter comprises the bulk of material within the book.

Austilat's chronicle of Twain's time in Berlin is interesting enough, though I found the writing rather matter-of-fact and not particularly engaging. There are also loads of pictures of Berlin in the late nineteenth century and in the present day. Honestly, I would have enjoyed this book so much more if not for its (in my opinion) misleading marketing.… (altro)