Metropolis

A futuristic utopia, written like a poetic dream/nightmare. The rich lounge in the upper city of Metropolis while the poor slave away their lives in the underbelly, feeding the machine of Metropolis with their sweat and blood. The heart, von Harbou insists, must be the mediator between the head and hands. This is the novelization of Fritz Lang's timeless film by the same name, and it's just as genius and elegantly created. Robot Maria is just as frightening and Rotwang is just as mad. The prose flows beautifully..almost in a nightmarish subconscious tone. It is a short read and an easy one, and it is VERY worth it.
Only problem is it's hard to find.

Thoroughly enjoyable book although at times the translation was confusing, I sometimes found I was guessing which character was being talked about in a paragraph; for example, I understood it was the son who found the cryptic note with symbols on, inside the worker's pocket when he had changed clothes with him, but later on it was the father who had the note, which the inventor revealed to be a map. And other times I thought the son had died working on the machine, but he hadn't; I thought Maria was the one burned by the workers, but it was her robotic clone instead. The plot reminded me mostly of HG Wells' The time machine when set in the future with the underground workers serving the privileged over-ground people, and images from show more Pink Floyd's The Wall with the workers walking in step, and serving the machines; and indeed Brave New World, with one man trying to change the structure of the society around him, and with his love for Maria.
Having finished the novel, I was glad to discover a review by HG Wells himself (of the film version) which he obviously didn't enjoy. The review amongst other things said tall cities would not be a feature of the future, which I found amusing, and I recommend reading both the Von Harbou book and the Wells review. show less

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/metropolis-by-thea-von-harbou-and-film-by-fritz-...

I may have been unlucky with the translation, but I found the novel rather clunky and not at all subtle; of course it’s firmly rooted in the political ferment of the Weimar Republic, and it’s about von Harbou’s hope that social upheaval could be contained by a grand bargain between workers and rulers, provided that they avoid the snares of populism. This was not of course what actually happened in Germany, and the workers don’t actually seem to get much out of the grand bargain; the rulers are still the rulers at the end of the book. Earnest but not super well executed.

I'd say that I have about two novelizations on my bookshelf. I'm not sure if I want to count 2001: A Space Odyssey, as I figure that and the film were written side-by-side. I do count, however, Neverwhere, as it is technically a novelization.

I used to have the novelizations for The Last Starfighter and Clash of the Titans, not to mention all the original Star Wars novelizations, but I found that when authors take a script and try to make 200+ page novel out of a 2+ hour film, they start to take a little bit of creative liberty with what goes through the main character's head, with other such annoying tactics to build a word count.

Not for me, thanks.

The only other novelization I really consider myself to have is this one, Metropolis, show more written by Lang's wife, Harbou. It was written after the film was released to give a larger market to the story presented in the film.

It is highly recommended (at least, an annotated version) for any fan of the film wishing to know innumerably more things about Metropolis as a whole. However, for the casual reader, it may be of little interest, as you'll probably do as much reading watching the film as you will reading the book (it is a silent picture after all). And, there's just as much color.

The story is a utopian one. Well, part of it is utopian. If you're rich, you live an unencumbered life of luxury, frolicking all day through gardens in the sky, and such. And how is all of this possible? Well, it's all done on the backs of the working class, who are all, effectively, just interchangeable cogs in the larger machine that is Metropolis.

Meet Joh Frederson, son of Freder, the ruler of Metropolis. Joh happens to meet a woman named Maria one day, and suddenly his world view has changed. He's all in favor of helping the working class, even if it means taking away his cushy life.

Freder, however, doesn't like this rabble rouser Maria. He consults his confidante and bitter enemy, Dr. Rotwang, who has perfected an automaton. Using this robot, disguised as a woman who looks identical to Maria, he sends her off to disrupt the plans of the real Maria.

Things don't start looking up from there.

If you are going to get this book, I recommend one not translated by Alan Rodgers, as I felt his translation was weak, and at times, plagued with errors. However, I cannot make a good recommendation over translators, so you'll just have to find the one that's best for you, or read it in the original German, if you're so inclined.

I do recommend this, though, to any fan of Metropolis. You may know everything there is to know about the film, but it can help provide even more insight. show less

So this is the book version of the famous film. Obviously its somewhat expanded beyond what they could show in a silent film but its also pretty similar in plot.
Its descriptions of machines are one of the oddest things about it. The workers are linked to the machines but you can't tell if it means literally or figuratively. Overall its fairly well written.

Na cidade futurística de Metrópolis, a população divide-se em dois andares. No primeiro, uma elite dominante desfruta dos prazeres da vida; no segundo, subterrâneo, os trabalhadores lutam para sobreviver. Quando Freder, o filho do Senhor da grande Metrópolis e habitante do primeiro andar, se apaixona por Maria, da cidade subterrânea, começa a conhecer melhor as condições às quais os trabalhadores são submetidos. Uma revolta começa a surgir entre os operários, e só o que faltava para uma revolução era uma líder. Quando ela surge, nada pode conter a fúria dos oprimidos.

Needed rather too much concentration to be a good audio book for the car. One I might come back to in print.