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Podcast: Opening Lines
Episode: Berlin Alexanderplatz
Description: As we approach its hundredth anniversary, John Yorke explores the long-vanished world of German writer Alfred Döblin’s Expressionist masterpiece, Berlin Alexanderplatz. Set in 1928 at the height of the Weimar Republic, the novel centres around Franz Biberkopf - ‘transport worker, housebreaker, pimp, manslaughterer’ - who is determined to go straight following his release from prison. Weather reports, tales from scripture, popular songs, death tolls, recipes and advertising slogans continuously interrupt Biberkopf’s dizzying journey through a collage-like depiction of Berlin. Doblin’s novel was a huge bestseller when it was first published and is said to hav...