Babylon Berlin

Babylon Berlin by Volger Kutscher (Rath Number 1)

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I came to this after watching two seasons of the German series. Normally, I find the book superior to the film version, but this is an odd case where the video is better.

Nonetheless, this is a fine book. This book introduces Gereon Rath. Rath has arrived in Berlin because he was involved in the killing of an influential publisher's son in his hometown of Cologne. Rath is assigned to the Vice squad where he introduces us to Berlin, his colleagues, and the underside of Berlin. From a chance meeting, he has an insight into a murder that he hopes will promote him to Gennat's homicide squad. (I just learned from a Wondrium lecture on German serial killers that Gennat was a historical figure who was prominent as the Berlin murder captain.) As in the series, Rath gets wind of Russian gold and rightwing arms dealing, all of which leads up to a thrilling conclusion.

It is a good story. The characters are well drawn, albeit different from the video. Rath is not a shell-shocked drug addict and Charlotte Ritter is not a hooker. Sometimes I wonder why these kinds of changes are introduced into dramatizations of books.

On the other hand, I think the video is stronger in giving us the feel of Berlin in late-stage Weimar. Putting Charlotte into the vice dens lets us see that world in a way that the book's depiction of Rath going to sex clubs doesn't. Perhaps that is why I preferred the show.

Obviously, I should not judge the book by the show. The book stands up on its own and is quite entertaining.