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yuuagoFinished reading Volker Kutscher's Babylon Berlin.
Unexpectedly, I think I prefer the TV series to the novel. As a crime novel, it's a solid mystery with a great sense of place. But the TV series felt very... more. And not just because the TV version is visually stunning and flashy.
The most significant difference for me is Charlotte. She's a well-developed character in the TV version; we get a close look at her life and her ambitions and her interpersonal drama, and we see a lot of her in general. By contrast, her book characterization is very thin, and her role is mainly to be an uncomplicated love interest. That was quite a bummer for me, because I liked her dynamic with Rath a lot in the TV series - partially because the relationship is more of a slow burn - and she was my favourite character in the TV version too. In the novel, well... No.
It's possible that she gets more development in the later novels. Might be a while before I get to those, if I do - the library doesn't have them, and I'm not in a hurry to ILL them right now (though I am curious enough to do it eventually, probably, maybe).
I think part of the issue I had with the novel is that it's so plot-focused, and so Rath-centric, that nothing else really has room to breathe. Though it isn't entirely that, because even Rath's characterization was more to my taste in the TV version.
Anyway! If you're interested in crime drama set in 1929 Berlin, the original book version of Babylon Berlin is all right, but I really do suggest watching the TV adaptation instead.
Unexpectedly, I think I prefer the TV series to the novel. As a crime novel, it's a solid mystery with a great sense of place. But the TV series felt very... more. And not just because the TV version is visually stunning and flashy.
The most significant difference for me is Charlotte. She's a well-developed character in the TV version; we get a close look at her life and her ambitions and her interpersonal drama, and we see a lot of her in general. By contrast, her book characterization is very thin, and her role is mainly to be an uncomplicated love interest. That was quite a bummer for me, because I liked her dynamic with Rath a lot in the TV series - partially because the relationship is more of a slow burn - and she was my favourite character in the TV version too. In the novel, well... No.
It's possible that she gets more development in the later novels. Might be a while before I get to those, if I do - the library doesn't have them, and I'm not in a hurry to ILL them right now (though I am curious enough to do it eventually, probably, maybe).
I think part of the issue I had with the novel is that it's so plot-focused, and so Rath-centric, that nothing else really has room to breathe. Though it isn't entirely that, because even Rath's characterization was more to my taste in the TV version.
Anyway! If you're interested in crime drama set in 1929 Berlin, the original book version of Babylon Berlin is all right, but I really do suggest watching the TV adaptation instead.
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.