Effi Briest (Penguin Classics)

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 833.7 EAN: 9780140447668 ISBN: 0140447660 Label: Penguin Classics Manufacturer: Penguin Classics Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 256 Publication Date: 2001-07-01 Publisher: Penguin Classics Release Date: 2001-07-03 Studio: Penguin Classics
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Editorial Reviews: In 1919 Thomas Mann hailed Effi Briest (1895) as one of "the six most significant novels ever written." Set in Bismarck's Germany, Fontane's luminous tale of a socially suitable but emotionally disastrous match between the enchanting seventeen-year-old Effi and an austere, workaholic civil servant twice her age, is at once touching and unsettling. Fontane's taut, ironic narrative depicts a world where sexuality and the enjoyment of life are stifled by narrow-mindedness and circumstance. Considered by many to be the pinnacle of the nineteenth-century German novel, Effi Briest is a tale of adultery that ranks with Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina and brilliantly demonstrates the truth of the author's comment and "women's stories are generally far more interesting."
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: MUCH MORE THAN I EXPECTED Comment: I didn't really expect to like this book. Was I surprised. An excellent book, I thoroughly enjoyed this. I bought it based on a review in the Wall Street Journal (or was it the Washington Post). I currently reside in Germany, so I found the historical context interesting. I find myself pondering the actions of the men and women, Effi and Geert in particular. If I were Geert, given the times, would I react in a similar way? Perhaps. I know I've read a good book if I continue to think about it long after finishing it. Customer Rating: Summary: I Wanted to Like This Book Comment: Thomas Mann thought Theodor Fontane a great novelist. Effi Briest is considered essential reading for those who want to learn about German culture, especially Prussian culture. I found this book very disappointing. The Chinaman's ghost is perhaps the highlight for me, a brief thrill in an otherwise slow-moving novel. There is little else here unless you are university student asked to dissect the various symbols or discuss the role of gender in Berlin in the time of Bismark. Other novels progress, move forward while this one seems to go around in the same "social ills" circle - Fontane continually showing his readers Effi's loneliness, isolation, immaturity and how she is a product of her time, upbrining, etc...etc.. (He does a great job of beating a dead horse instead of actually telling a story...maybe that's where his genius lies in this novel.) This novel is intelligent, it just happens to be dull. The symbols are there, the allusions provides some clues but it's not enough as far as I'm concerned. When the actual adultery happens, how it happens... there's nothing here that prepares the reader nor something reliable to give you more insight into Effi's longings. Despite all the showing, the reasons for the adultery, I couldn't feel anything for her beyond a minor note of pity. Subtlety is one thing but this is an "uber-subtlety" to the point of "why bother". I gave my copy away to the library. Customer Rating: Summary: Masterpiece Comment: A masterpiece for the mature reader. It's strange that Fontane is not better-known in the English-speaking world, but this seems to be the case with German language literature in general. Ask the typical student of European literature for names, and they'll soon peter out after Goethe & Schiller. In fact there are many wonderful German writers (Spanish ones too) but usually we hear only of the English, French and Russian writers. Lessing (G E von, not Doris!) is another wonderful German writer. This book (which I read in the Parmee translation, not the one referenced here) is not for youngsters looking for graphic sex, violence or suchlike "thrills." In particular, I would recommend against its being assigned in college classes. That audience is not ready for Effi Briest. It's an ADULT BOOK :). For those who liked Effi Briest, several other Fontane novels have been translated and were issued by Ungar some years ago. Effi is the best I've read, but others of interest are A Man of Honor (Schach von Wuthenow) and Jenny Treibel. Both show the same interest in and sympathy for women characters. Customer Rating: Summary: Painfully dull Comment: I recently had to read this book for one of my classes and the only thing that grew out of me reading this book was a very deep hate for it. The story itself is very dull, there is very little exitement, some one who might like authors in the like of the Brontes or Austin might enjoy this book, but other than that, it is very hard to get into the story Customer Rating: Summary: Effi Briest, a more realist book than Madame Bovary Comment: A very good book which confronts many issues about gender roles and the roles that youth plays in relationships. The characters are more realistic than many of those in such novels as Madame Bovary, which has been declared the prime example of European Realism. Overall a great read. More Reviews