Norita Dittberner-Jax of St. Paul writes:

Christopher Isherwood writes with extraordinary skill, re-creating in "The Berlin Stories" the atmosphere of Berlin on the verge of Nazi takeover — the corruption, the gallows humor, the bread lines, the sexual ambiguity, the eccentricity of the characters.

Among the most memorable is Sally Bowles, adapted in the 1960s for the film "Cabaret." I have an abiding interest in a sense of place. In Isherwood's stories, Berlin itself is the most unforgettable character.

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