Summer 1918: Through the eyes of a ten-year-old girl, we watch the war come to an end
Like Kind aller Länder (Child of All Nations), this novel, Irmgard Keun’s first written while in exile and first published in 1936, is also about a young girl with a mind of her own, crazy ideas and a ton of problems. The biggest one being Ms. Meiser, the imaginative third-grader’s teacher. Ms. Meiser isn’t the least bit amused by her practical jokes, reprimands her again and again and, when even that doesn’t do the trick, issues a general prohibition against associating with her. From now on, the girl must do without her friends. Luckily, her father Victor, a rather successful businessman, proves to be a gifted playmate. But throwing a homemade water bomb onto Ms. Meiser’s head from the balcony turns out not to be a good idea, only exacerbating the situation. And life during the war is hard enough as it is. The copper pot has been requisitioned to make guns, food is scarce, the neighbor lost an arm on the field of battle and the girl is forced to steal turnips, putting her in great danger. Finally, with a letter to the Kaiser, she hopes to bring about peace.
In this novel, Irmgard Keun once again succeeds in creating a comic and touching connection between childish innocence and precocious understanding – with a light narrative tone that nevertheless hints at all the abysses that lie below…
