Grand Hotel

by Vicki Baum

Book Overview

A luxury hotel in 1920s Berlin is a microcosm of modern society in this classic that inspired a hit Broadway musical and the classic film starring Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, and John Barrymore.

"Prefigures Downtown Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs by examining multiple characters from different classes." --Shelf Awareness

The luxury Grand Hotel is a revolving door for the stray souls of 1920s Berlin. Among the guests is Doctor Otternschlag, a World War I veteran whose face has been sliced in half by a shell. Day after day he emerges to read the paper in the lobby, discreetly inquiring at the desk if the letter he's been awaiting for years has arrived. Then there is Grusinskaya, a great ballerina now fighting a losing battle not so much against age as against her fear of it, who may or may not be made for Gaigern, a sleek professional thief. Herr Preysing also checks in, the director of a family firm that isn't as flourishing as it appears, who would never imagine that Kringelein, his underling, a timorous petty clerk he's bullied for years, has also come to Berlin, determined to live at last now that he's received a medical death sentence.

All these characters and more, with all their secrets and aspirations, come together and come alive in the pages of Baum's delicious and disturbing masterpiece--a Weimar-era bestseller that retains all its verve and luster today.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590179676
• ISBN13: 9781590179673
• Release Date: June 2016
• Publisher: New York Review of Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Fine Piece of Literature

Grand Hotel, the translation of Menchen im Hotel, is about a group of strangers staying at a posh hotel in Berlin. Each of them have their troubles and become connected throughout the novel. Baron von Geigern is a down-and-out man who steals to maintain his lavish lifestyle. He falls in love with the aging dancer Grusinskaya one night when attempting to steal from her. She immediately latches onto him because he is young and she feels rejuvenated by his affection. The best scene in the book is that between the Baron and Grusinskaya the morning after; it is filled with psychology and understanding of the two characters. Kringelein is a pathetic man who comes to the hotel to spend his life savings on the last few days of his life, hoping to finally find happiness. He meets the Baron who takes him under his wing to show him a good time. Flammchen is a stenographer employed by Preysing at the hotel who falls in love with the Baron. Preysing plots to cheat on his wife with Flammchen who he becomes obsessed with, but is more concerned with the possibility that his company could completely deconstruct. Dr. Otternschlag is a sad man who always checks for mail at the front desk but never has any. He observes the hotel and acts as sort of a narrator at times to the story. Each character is made realistic by the author, and the plot twist at the end serves as an appropriate and exciting climax. I read the book because I loved the film starring John Barrymore as the Baron, Greta Garbo as Grusinskaya, Lionel Barrymore as Kringelein, Joan Crawford as Flammchen, Wallace Berry as Preysing, and Lewis Stone as Otternschlag. It is a wonderful adaptation and a beautifully photographed film. However, there are some differences, as there always are when books are made into films. The Baron is slightly more likable in the book than in the film because more attention is paid to him. One needs to read the book to understand Grusinskaya's motivations; since a young star played her in a very exaggerated way, the character seems more insane than justified in her actions. Kringelein is somewhat less respectable in the book but just as likable. Flammchen looks differently in the film, but is better developed and more realistic in it as well. Preysing is just as dull in both. Dr. Otternschlag is paid much more attention in the book than in the film. Overall, the book is more philosophical about the characters and their relationships to each other because it does not rely solely on dialogue like the film.