From the Berlin Journal

The Berlin Journal is a diary by Max Frisch, a giant of German literature, that covers topics from daily life to political and social conditions in East Germany as seen from West Berlin. It is one of the great treasures of Frisch's literary estate and has been published for the first time. The diary reflects Frisch's doubt, lack of illusions, and sharp eye for the world, and includes observations about his everyday life, narrative and essayistic texts, and portraits of colleagues. Its foremost quality is the extraordinary acuity with which Frisch observed political and social conditions in East Germany while living in West Berlin.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 222 pages
Publication date: 06 July 2023
Publisher: Seagull Books London Ltd

Max Frisch (1911–91) was a towering figure in twentieth-century German literature. When Frisch relocated to a new apartment in Berlins Sarrazinstrasse, he started keeping a journal, which he later named the Berlin Journal. A few years later, in an interview, he emphasized that this was by no means a "scribbling book," but rather a book "fully composed." The journal is one of the great treasures of Frisch's literary estate, but the author imposed a retention period of twenty years from the date of his death due to the "private things" he noted in it.

From the Berlin Journal marks the first publication of excerpts from Frisch's journal. Here, the unmistakable Frisch is back, full of doubt, with no illusions, and with a playfully sharp eye for the world. From the Berlin Journal spans the years 1946–49 and 1966–71. Observations about the writer's everyday life stand alongside narrative and essayistic texts, as well as finely-drawn portraits of colleagues like Günter Grass, Uwe Johnson, Wolf Biermann, and Christa Wolf, among others. Its foremost quality, though, is the extraordinary acuity with which Frisch observed political and social conditions in East Germany while living in West Berlin.

Max Frisch was a towering figure in twentieth-century German literature. When Frisch relocated to a new apartment in Berlins Sarrazinstrasse, he started keeping a journal, which he later named the Berlin Journal. A few years later, in an interview, he emphasized that this was by no means a "scribbling book," but rather a book "fully composed." The journal is one of the great treasures of Frisch's literary estate, but the author imposed a retention period of twenty years from the date of his death due to the "private things" he noted in it.

From the Berlin Journal marks the first publication of excerpts from Frisch's journal. Here, the unmistakable Frisch is back, full of doubt, with no illusions, and with a playfully sharp eye for the world. From the Berlin Journal spans the years 1946–49 and 1966–71. Observations about the writer's everyday life stand alongside narrative and essayistic texts, as well as finely-drawn portraits of colleagues like Günter Grass, Uwe Johnson, Wolf Biermann, and Christa Wolf, among others. Its foremost quality, though, is the extraordinary acuity with which Frisch observed political and social conditions in East Germany while living in West Berlin.

Weight: 260g
Dimension: 128 x 204 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781803092140