This is more like a review-by-proxy of Emil and the detectives.I watched a program on youtube in which Marcel Reich-Ranicki, without doubt the most famous German literary critc of his time, is talking about German authors; this time about Erich Kästner. Of course he also had something to say about "Emil". Born in Poland in 1920 with a Polish father and German mother, the family moved to Berlin in the late 1920s. Here little Marcel learned to read German. Although he sort of liked the usual books set in exotic places and historic times ("Ben Hur", "Quo Vadis", "Robinson Crusoe", the Karl May stuff, etc.) he was enthusiatic about Kästner's novel for children. This was the very first book, at least in Germany, that is set in a place the children actually know about (Berlin) and at the current time and not in some distant past. The characters in the book speak the same language as the readers, while the story is also believable and understandable. So here's a clear five-star-rating from Mr Reich-Ranicki.But that's not what I wanted to talk about.Later Reich-Ranicki moved back to Poland and, as a Jew, was held captive in the Warshaw Ghetto. In an antiquarian bookshop he discovered some German books, one of which was Kästner's Lyrische Hausapotheke (Poetic Medicine Chest). He wasn't able (or not allowed) to buy the book, but he could borrow it for a limited time. His then-girlfriend (and later wife) copied the poems by hand, added some images, and gave it to her boyfriend as a gift for his 21st birthday. They both read the "book" many times, while hearing Germans shooting and Jews screaming on the streets of the ghetto. Death was imminent any day. After the war Reich-Ranicki went back to Germany, and eventually became a known figure in German literary circles. In the mid-fifties he met Erich Kästner in Munich for the first time. When he showed Kästner the "illegal" copy of his book that was read in the Warshaw Ghetto the author had no idea that his works (banned and burned by the Nazis) were read outside of Germany during the war. I bet he had to brush away a tear or two. Another case of a pen that is ultimatley mightier than any sword.PS: There was a facsimile edition made from the Ghetto book, and I think I'm going to get me a copy.
Erich Kastner had written Emil and the Detectives originally in German. The book was very popular. But during Hitler's time, his books were branded anti-german and several copies consigned to flames. Luckily, the book outlasted those dark times and Emil survived to spy another day. Emil is one of the first fictional child detectives. Today, we have 'The Famous Five', ' Alex Rider', 'Nancy Drew... But little Emil was the first. Philip Pullman remarked that the book is ' democracy in action' and he is right. Emil and his friends co-operate with each other, stick together and contribute to the decision making process, ultimately leading to the thief's capture. Emil and the detectives is set in the good old world, when things and people used to be a lot less complicated and kids were just kids. The book is awash with the rustic charm of the countryside, the maddening excitement of a teeming city and the cozy warmth of unadulterated affection and companionship. When Emil realises that he has been robbed of the seven pounds that his mother had toiled hard to earn and which she had entrusted to his safekeeping, he does not think twice before deciding to pursue the thief, inspite of being aware of the dangers the chase might lead him to. But he was in for the biggest surprise of his life when a whole herd of Berlinese boys join him in his mission and pledge their unstinted support to regain his money. From then on, it is fund unlimited for Emil and the boys. One cannot help but smile at the utter seriousness with which the kids plot their strategy. They pool their money, stock food, engage messengers, devise passwords to prevent unauthorised and illegitimate access to their classified plans and spy in disguise. And of course, at the end Emil and his group is mightily rewarded for the thief's capture. The book is an indisputable classic - a must read for children as well as grown up children. After all, as Kastner himself has said, "Only the one who becomes a grown-up and keeps on being a child is a human being."
Do You like book Emil And The Detectives (2001)?
"Oh no," I tutted to myself when Emil kept checking to see if his money was still in his pocket, afraid that he might lose it before getting to grandma. "Oh no, you're signalling every thief around that you have an envelope full of money. Tut, tut, don't do that."So of course his money gets stolen and my heart clenches as Emil from the small town runs through Berlin in search of his thief. I really enjoyed the story, with its lovingly described characters, and with the insanity of a whole crowd of children chasing a thief through the streets. It's sweet and nice and everything a children's book ought to be.And as for people over here commenting that this has a lot to do with Hitler's Youth and the German policy regarding Greece in 2015... well, I'm sure that if I really wanted to I could explain how Dickens effectively led to Churchill's policies in WWII and how "The Last of the Mohicans" offers a great insight into the huge fluctuations in the stock market last week, but I would be quite wrong. Emil's story would work just as well in any setting old enough for there to be no cell phones, I believe.
—Roxana-Mălina Chirilă
I read this book when I was a child in German. Am currently reading it to my seven-year old daughter. I forgot how exciting it is. I think it would be cruel to name your future child Pony...
—russell barnes
This book is interesting for two historical reasons.1) It is the progenitor of the children-as-detectives genre, which would later bring us Enid Blyton's Famous Five, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, The Boxcar Children, and Encyclopedia Brown.2) It is a sort of time capsule, showing us through children's eyes the world of Berlin right before the National Socialist party came into power. Strangely, this book is the only one of Kästner's then-existing works that the Nazis did not feel they had to burn.Beyond these items of note, I was unimpressed by the story. Perhaps this was due to the idiosyncrasies of this edition and its translation.For instance, under the heading "About the Names in This Book" we are told that the book was translated into English by May Massee. This is corroborated by the copyright page which reads "1929, 1930 Doubleday" corresponding with the period that Ms. Massee was working as the head of their Juvenile Department. The translation we get, however, is full of Wodehouse-era Britishisms like "Dash it all," "Right-o," and "Don't talk such rot." Not only are the expressions anglicized, but so is the money! Instead of marks, everyone in Berlin inexplicably uses pounds, shillings, and pence. Now, why would May Massee, from the American Midwest, translate a German story into the British idiom? Furthermore, in the aforementioned "About the Names in This Book" section, it is stated, "...we left the names just as they are in the German version," and then informs us, "DIENS-TAG is Tuesday and means service day or a kind of office day, so you'll see that little Dienstag was well named." That's fine, except that we never meet the boy named Dienstag in this translation; his name has been changed to Tuesday.If I ever decide to re-evaluate this book, I will seek out one of the newer, hopefully more faithful, translations. I recommend you do the same.
—Jason
