Clouds over Paris: The Wartime Notebooks of Felix Hartlaub

Name: Clouds over Paris: The Wartime Notebooks of Felix Hartlaub
Brand: Allen & Unwin
SKU: 9781782278467
Price: 24.99 NZD
Availability: InStock

By Felix Hartlaub

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Summary

Clouds over Paris: The Wartime Notebooks of Felix Hartlaub presents a vivid and introspective account of life in Paris during the German occupation of World War II. Through Hartlaub's diaristic observations, readers are offered a hauntingly atmospheric and personal glimpse into the tension and beauty of the city amidst the backdrop of war. His writings capture the eerie juxtaposition of everyday moments and historical upheaval, revealing a keen eye for detail and emotion.
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Format: Paperback / softback

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Clouds over Paris: The Wartime Notebooks of Felix Hartlaub

$24⁹⁹

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you're fascinated by intimate, firsthand observations of life during wartime. Felix Hartlaub's notebooks provide a poignant view of Paris under German occupation, offering a unique blend of personal reflections and historical insight. You'll enjoy it if you appreciate the intricacies of memoirs that capture the tension, beauty, and resilience found in times of conflict.

Clouds over Paris: The Wartime Notebooks of Felix Hartlaub

New paperback of the acclaimed, sharply immediate diary written from the heart of Occupied Paris by a classic German writer

Description

The writer Felix Hartlaub died in obscurity at just 31, vanishing from Berlin in 1945. He left behind a small oeuvre of private writings from the Second World War: fragments and observations of life from the midst of catastrophe that, with their evocative power and precision, would make a permanent place for him in German letters.

Posted to Paris in 1940 to conduct archival research, Hartlaub recorded his impressions of the unfamiliar city in notebooks that document with unparalleled immediacy the daily realities of occupation. With a painter's eye for detail, Hartlaub writes of the bustle of civilians and soldiers in cafes, of half-seen trysts during blackout hours, and the sublime light of Paris in spring.

Clouds Over Paris is a unique testament to the persistence of ordinary life through disaster.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Clouds over Paris by Felix Hartlaub is praised for its evocative and inventive portrayal of Paris during wartime, depicting the city cloaked in clouds and touched by the ominous presence of swastikas. The book is noted for its fragmented yet engaging narrative, offering a tantalising glimpse into Hartlaub's potential as a literary figure. It is described as a significant contribution to German literature on wartime Paris, with finely drawn observations that contrast ordinary life against the sweeping events of history. Hartlaub's use of irony to highlight the contradictions and propaganda within the German occupation adds depth to this compelling memoir.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781782278467

Publisher: Pushkin Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 28 September 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Pushkin Press Classics

Contributors:

Introduction by Rüdiger Görner
Translated by Simon Beattie
Introduction by Rüdiger Görner

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 176

Collections

Biography & Memoir Felix Hartlaub Journals Non-Fiction Stationery

About the Author

Felix Hartlaub grew up in Mannheim, the son of an art historian and museum director who was ejected from his post by the Nazis in 1933 for his support of 'degenerate' art. Hartlaub studied history and was called up immediately upon graduating in 1939. Initially serving in a barrage balloon unit, he was sent to Paris in late 1940 to do archival research for the German foreign office, using his spare time to document the city in the notebooks that comprise Clouds Over Paris. He would continue writing diaries throughout the war up until he went missing in Berlin in May 1945.