Avail Yourself Emil And The Detectives Conceived By Erich Kästner Distributed In Hardcover
tik interesanti pieaugušā vecumā pārlasīt bērnības dienu grāmatas, Šobrīd liekas, ka Emīls ir totāls gnīda, lai gan bērnībā tā nepavisam nelikās, I read this German children's classic while the Greek debt drama of Julywas unfolding I would finish a chapter, go to the Daily Telegraph live blog, catch up on the latest news from Brussels, then return to Emil.
The people reporting on the political story were eager to cast the Germans, particularly the hardline Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, as the villains.
I read many pieces about how Schäuble was imposing unreasonable and humiliating conditions on the Greeks, and when one looked at poor Euclid Tsakalotos it was indeed difficult not to feel sorry for him.
But as Emil's story progressed, I began to experience an odd sympathy for the Germans, Emil, a bright and responsible eightyearold, comes from a poor home, His father is dead. His mother doesn't bring in much as a hairdresser, but by planning carefully she is just able to make ends meet and even save a little.
She's finally scraped togetherMarks so that Emil can go and visit his grandmother in Berlin for a week, and both she and Emil are very proud of this achievement.
And then, while he's on the train, a heartless thief steals his money, Emil never cries, but he cries now, because he thinks of all the sacrifices his mother made to put that little capital together.
And then he moves heaven and earth to get his stolen money back,
I watched Schäuble requesting more and more outrageous conditions before he would consent to lend a third tranche of his country's money to Alexis Tsipras, and I suddenly saw him as a small boy reading Emil und die Detektive.
He did now just what Emil does in the book: he made contact with a group of likeminded people, got them on his side, encircled the criminal who seemed to be on the point of making off with his assets, and forced him to capitulate.
Greece will probably get its loans, but only when they've pledged suitable collateral, It was one of the toughest pieces of negotiation I've ever seen,
There's something beautiful and terrifying about that Protestant work ethic,
This is a book that I saw and had to buy and read,
It represents a time in my life when I was too busy playing sport or out with mates to read books.
I was also lazy and lacked confidence even to read in class but I always liked stories, This was a book that I remember from my youth like, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, Brer Rabbit and a wooden horse who collected money somehow and worked down a pit and went to war.
Emil and the Detectives was a story that resonated with me, perhaps as it is about crime, perhaps 'cos it is about a group of lads who form a gang for good and although boys will be boys worked together to get a job done.
I like that aspect of the story still today, It perhaps doesn't reflect young men at play so much in thest century but it is almost ageless in its account of a life from the previousyears.
It is also exciting as it is set in Berlin, Germany and is a story that could have been equally true if set in England.
Written init is chilling to think that this was a youth that went on to be soldiers in World War II.
Still it is a timeless children's novel and a perfect medium to encourage young people to read for themselves, Rather than a late developer like me who got his Mum to read to him even as a teenager and always loved Jackanory.
The introduction to this book confidently tells us how the story has been faithfully translated from German and in no way loses any of the excitement, thrill or adventure had by our main character, Emil.
It's right too, because this is a cracking story, first published in English in, of Emil's train ride to visit his Grandmother in Berlin and his subsequent adventure.
On the way to Berlin Emil sits next to a man wearing a bowler hat and reading a newspaper, there is something not quite right about him, after nodding off to sleep because of the rhythm of the train, Emil awakes later to find both the carefully concealed money he was taking to his Grandmother and the man in the bowler hat.
gone.
I love this book, I love the detective story that unfolds and the way Erich Kastner, the author, stops to address the reader with extra, necessary explanations about the behaviour or motives of the characters.
Everything about this book makes it a thoroughly great read, Ive been wanting to read this book since Disney aired itsfilm version on television when I was a child myself lates or earlys.
But I put it off for literally decades until the excellent sitelinkManny Rayner reminded me of the books existence, How sorry I am that I didnt read this delightful little book sooner!
Considering the book was first released in, this tale of a poor boy who loses a large sum, but is aided in its recovery, has aged magnificently.
Young Emil Tabletoe takes a train to Berlin to spend a week during the summer with his grandmother, Aunt Martha, and her family.
While on the train, hes robbed of themarks hes carrying by a man in a bowler hat, and his adventure in the big city begins.
Emils newfound friend, Gustav with the bicycle horn, and his pals organize a manhunt that would make the FBI proud, Emils cousin also joins in, Author sitelinkErich Kästner creates amazingly believable characters particularly boys thoroughly enjoying being boys like Emil, Gustav, Crumbagel, the Professor, Petzold, grumpy Truegut, and little Tuesday but also the longsuffering Mrs.
Tabletoe and Emils smartalecky grandmother and his bicyclecrazed, feisty cousin “Pony the Hat” Heimbold, I loved every minute of this quick read, which I finished in one sitting, I couldnt stop reading!
Two special treats in this book, Secondly, and unusual for Kindle books, sitelinkWalter Triers charming illustrations from the original publication have been included, A joy for readers of all ages! GENERAL THOUGHTS ON EMIL AND THE DETECTIVES BASED ON THE GERMAN ORIGINAL
First published in, Erich Kästner's Emil und die Detektive Emil and the Detectives in English translations especially and brilliantly sparkles and glows with its sense of time and place, with its urban realism, its palpably authentic and genuine representation and description of Berlin the capital city of the Germany of the Weimar Republic, a lively and throbbing modern metropolis, and not some vague environs set in either a magical present or a distant historical past.
Also and for me personally, first reading about Emil's adventures and exploits in Berlin more than forty years later inwhen I was nine years old, approximately a year before we immigrated from what was then West Germany to Canada, and thus in the German original, of course, with the Berlin Wall at that time still firmly in place and East Berlin, like all of East Germany, for all intents and purposes cut off from West Germany, Emil und die Detektive was basically the only way for me to even remotely be able to experience the at that time still former capital of Germany as fromuntil reunification, while East Berlin remained the capital of East Germany, the capital of West Germany of course was Bonn, since unless one had family members in the East, it was often very difficult if not even impossible for many if not most West Germans to even obtain permission from East Germany to cross over, to visit and neither did we have relatives in East Germany nor did my parents desire to frequent East Germany as that, according to them, would have been catering to Erich Honecker and the Soviet Union and even the idea of perhaps visiting West Berlin was never remotely entertained or considered.
Now aside from the above mentioned and appreciated immediacy, the both harsh and at times delightful reality of urban existence, Emil und die Detektive is primarily a novel of not only adventure and friendship, but essentially, a glorification of children and their abilities, their hidden and not so hidden strengths and talents.
For Emil and his new friends tracking and then apprehending the scoundrel who had robbed Emil of his money clearly and succinctly demonstrates to ALL including parents, including adults that the young are NOT and should never be mere bastions of inactivity and quietude to be seen but not heard, to be sitting silently and attentively at school, at church or at home, but that children can do, that if they join forces and work together, they can at least within the confines of this story even take the job of the authorities, of adult detectives and of course that there is also safety and comfort in numbers, that as a team, collectively, much can be accomplished.
But that being said, and even though I do realise that from all of Erich Kästner's children's novels, Emil und die Detektive remains his most famous and well known piece of writing especially in North America and Great Britain, especially in translation, there are unfortunately also some rather major and unfortunate issues with datedness and stratified gender roles textually present.
For example, Emil's female
cousin Pony Hütchen Pony of the Hat, while clearly represented in many ways as both the most imaginative and even the most courageous of the children, unfortunately also seems to be primarily a maternal representative, a motherly type whose role is first and foremost that of a caregiver and liaison and it is thus Emil and the boys of the group who later earn all or at least most of the accolades and credit, who are feted as having apprehended the thief.
Now I do very well realise that Emil und die Detektive was penned, was published in thes and that for its time for, both the story itself and the featured characters are actually quite if not very much avantgarde even with regard to Pony Hütchen, who while she might indeed languish somewhat as a typical maternal caregiver like entity, is at least permitted, is at least allowed freedom and vitality, is not simply confined to the house or to a finishing school, sewing or learning how to "be a lady".
I just do find it somewhat frustrating that even though many of Erich Kästner's later novels for children often portray considerably less gender stratification and even actual criticism of the latter, they are often not nearly as familiar and even available to especially English language readers.
Still, Emil und die Detektive remains highly recommended as a story, and is perhaps even a good place to start especially if one desires to read Erich Kästner's children's writing sociologically and/or historically.
THE MAY MASSEE TRANSLATION
Well, after having been massively frustrated with and disappointed by the recentW.
Martin translation of Emil und die Detektive, I was both looking forward to reading this earlier and now unfortunately no longer in current print translation by May Massee and also feeling a bit of, I think, wellunderstood trepidation.
Yes, a number of my GR friends had very highly praised Massee's translation of Kästner's classic, but I still was a bit worried.
However, I absolutely need not have been, This here translation, May Massee's rendition is, indeed, simply lovely, simply wonderful, in all ways totally and utterly capturing the spirit of the original, of Erich Kästner's original German text whilst also not reading like a literal sentence to sentence translation, whilst presenting a narrative that flows smoothly, naturally, and in no way haltingly.
And while there might indeed be a few minor spelling mistakes, and one or two small instances of awkwardness of interpretation, the translator May Massee has for the most part successfully rendered into English what should be kept English and retained in German what needs to be kept German such as all of the personal and geographic names and designations.
And unlike theW. Martin translation of Emil und die Detektive which changed so much of especially Gus's Gustav's parlance into a rather strange lateth, earlyst century American street slang not really appropriate for a novel clearly set ins Berlin, the idiomatic expressions, the slang and discourse of May Massee's translation fit both time and place and thus also mirror Kästner's original German narrative accurately and very much realistically.
And therefore, for those of you who are seriously interested in reading an English language translation of Erich Kästner's Emil und die Detektive, from the two English language versions I have read to date, I can and will ONLY recommend theMay Massee translation this very translation, for her rendition, her Emil and the Detectives ABSOLUTELY outshines the most recentW.
Martin translation in EVERY way imaginable and while out of print, and thus not as easily and readily available as the latter, May Massee's translation is nevertheless still rather easy to obtain as a used book, and often even at more than reasonable prices, especially if purchasing it as a paperback.
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