Overview

Originally published in 1932 and banned by the Nazis one year later, Blood Brothers follows a gang of young boys bound together by unwritten rules and mutual loyalty. This is the only known novel by German social worker and journalist Ernst Haffner, of whom nearly all traces were lost during WWII. Told in stark, unsparing detail, Haffner's story delves into the illicit underworld of Berlin on the eve of Hitler's rise to power, describing how these blood brothers move from one petty crime to the next, spending their nights in underground bars and hotels.

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9781590517048

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Haffner's book stands out for its documentary detail. It opens with a description of the hours-long queues at the labor exchange, and paints a vivid picture of the gang's initiation ceremonies, drinking rituals, and the glorious satisfaction of hot pea soup on an empty stomach. At the same time, Blood Brothers is plot-driven and told in a simple, straightforward, style. -- The Guardian Like a karate chop: hard and direct, but true. -- Der Spiegel A real discovery. -- Literarische Welt

Like a karate chop: hard and direct, but true. -- Der Spiegel A real discovery. -- Literarische Welt

Author Information

Ernst Haffner was a journalist and social worker and his only known novel, Blood Brothers, was published to wide acclaim in 1932 before it was banned by the Nazis one year later. In the 1940s, all records of Haffner disappeared. His fate during World War II remains unknown.   Michael Hofmann has translated the work of Franz Kafka, Joseph Roth, Hans Fallada, and many others. In 2012 he was awarded the Thornton Wilder Prize for Translation by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is the author of several books of poems and essays, including Where Have You Been? (2014). He lives in Florida and London.  

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