Mitte 1
Boheme, Berlin
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Genre | Mitte 2 |
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Mitte 1 Is the second episode of a comedy series of novels by German writer Albrecht Behmel. The eponymous “Mitte” (“downtown”) is the first and most central borough of Germany’s capital Berlin. The series depicts the author as an extreme fictionalized version of himself as a struggling artist during the 1990s in post-reunification Berlin, when the once divided cold-war city became the nation’s capital almost over night resulting in a now-legendary social and artistic (but not financial) boom.[1]
The novel is about today’s boheme in Berlin, artists, writers and proto-hipsters, the pre-Facebook emerging internet-culture of urban youth and dating; solitude and the dynamics of art as a commercial commodity.[2]
Plot Introduction
After struggling painter Albrecht gets introduced to Sow Luise of Kreuzberg, a pig, his career finally takes off - even though his snobbish and conservative family and his two competing girl-friends strongly disapprove of this professional choice of subject since they suspect it conveys a message. When Jenny Epstein, his secret love and room-mate, establishes a Country-and-Western band with bi-polar Timo, Albrecht has to choose between two artistic careers. He starts listening to his inner voice, as suggested by the apparently omniscient Wibke Schmidt, which brings him in all kinds of trouble. Especially during a musical context that his friend Mikki, now a self-proclaimed agent of the band, is determined to win the contest by all means. All plans fall apart when bi-polar Timo tries to commit suicide and Jenny Epstein gets pregnant but refuses to reveal the father.
Notable Characters and Topics
- Albrecht, narrator and protagonist
- Jenny Epstein, the main antagonist and love-interest
- Wibke Schmidt, secondary antagonist
- Tante Schacki an irritable aunt and real-estate shark
- Mikki , a failed Lawyer and womanizer
- Susie , a highly competent waitress capable of teleportation
Setting and Literary Style
The story is related in the first person singular by Albrecht, an
Major themes
The series covers a variety of recurring topics, like breaking up and making up, Berlin’s nightlife, alcohol and drugs, literature and the arts, horses and country and western music; bad cooking and
Autobiographical Issues
The author claimed that no real-life persons were depicted in the novel, including the protagonist and narrator, also called ‘’Albrecht’’ who has no surname in the series, even though obvious parallels exist.[4]
Like the protagonist, the author was a resident of Berlin Mitte in the 1990s and early 2010s. Most of the locations, galleries, malls, shops and bars however are made up.[5]
Series and Production
The series includes four novels, all called “Mitte” plus a prequel titled “
See also
External links
Bibliography
Tannert, Pielow, Berlin Art Scene, 2013,
References
- ^ Stern Magazin, 24.1.2013
- ^ Review
- ^ "Berlin Cracks the Startup Code". Businessweek. 2012-04-12. Archived from the original on April 13, 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
- ^ Publisher’s note on the series
- ^ author’s blog