The Bells in Their Silence

"Gorra has made a notable effort to write a truthful book that, while colorful and impressionistic, also draws thoughtful conclusions about what he encounters... His accounts of his wandering are peppered with literary and historical reflections as well as musings on the nature of travel literature... [T]he results can be stunning."--Brooke Allen, New York Times Book Review "Gorra's narrative is rich in texts he knows or has heuristically sought out: Goethe, Stendhal, Heine, Fontane, Thomas Mann, Patrick Leigh Fermore, Bruce Chatwin and Walter Benjamin... But the big names who establish Gorra's credentials as an intelligent traveler cannot really enlighten him on his quest... On the other hand his beloved texts frame the possibility of a true friendship with Germany, which is his subtle story."--Lesley Chamberlain, Times Literary Supplement "Gorra's introspective, impressionistic account of his travels through Germany is shaped--perhaps even haunted--by figures from the past: historical, literary, personal ... Yet for all his erudition, Gorra enters the deep waters of German cultural memory a humble, inquisitive novice, weaving personal and literary experiences... A captivating, unique work of synthesis."--Booklist (starred review) "Gorra interprets modern Germany with intellectual verve and sometimes even a little humor."--Georgia Jones Davis, Washington Post Book World "Entertainingly vivid... [B]ecause Gorra travels in Germany with such animated interest and pleasure, there arises a moral tension that drives his narrative. The pleasure of travel collides with the knowledge that one is in a place where so much misery has been inflicted and suffered."--Steve Dowden, The Boston Globe "With such heavy baggage from World War II, Germany is rarely given the travelogue treatment these days. Michael Gorra, who was struck by the country's beauty on a business trip, has rectified that in this perceptive tale of his adventures."--Chicago Tribune, Best Books of 2004 "Brilliant... Since the second world war, ... Germany has more or less disappeared from the literary route-map. Michael Gorra begins to fill this gap, while remembering that a country's history is longer than one episode, however calamitous."--Jeremy Treglown, Financial Times Magazine "[An] intellectually sophisticated ... book about being an outsider in modern Germany."--Jeremy Treglown, Granta "Gorra's knowledge on James is encyclopedic; he is never boring ... the result is a marvelous book that is a joy to read."--Cerise Press

Michael Gorra is Mary Augusta Jordan Professor of English at Smith College. He is the author of "After Empire" and "The English Novel at Mid-Century", and the recipient, for his work as a reviewer, of the Nona Balakian Citation of the National Book Critics Circle. He reviews books for the "New York Times Book Review", the "Times Literary Supplement", the "Atlantic Monthly", and other publications.

Preface The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog xi CHAPTER ONE: Cultural Capital 1 CHAPTER TWO: The Peculiarities of German Travel 25 CHAPTER THREE: Visible Cities 52 CHAPTER FOUR: The Dentist's House 79 CHAPTER FIVE: Fragments and Digressions 107 CHAPTER SIX: Hauptstadt 132 CHAPTER SEVEN: Family Chronicles 160 Sources and Suggestions for Further Reading 191 Acknowledgments 205 Index 207