From Nine to NineorBetween Nine and Nine(German title:Zwischen neun und neun;original title:Freiheit) is a novel byLeo Perutzfirst published in1918.It is about a turbulent day in the life of an impoverished student inImperialVienna.The commission of a desperate crime at the beginning of the novel triggers achain reactionduring which theprotagonistis thrown into a series ofgrotesquesituations while all around him people carry on with their normal lives without noticing anything out of the ordinary.
 First edition (German) published byAlbert Langen | |
| Author | Leo Perutz |
|---|---|
| Original title | Zwischen neun und neun |
| Translator | Lily Lore;Edward Larkin and Thomas Ahrens |
| Cover artist | Th. Th. Heine |
| Language | German |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Various newspapers (Original serial);The Viking Press;Ariadne Press(Eng. lang. book) |
Publication date | 1918 |
| Publication place | Austria |
Published in English | 1926; 2009 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback&Paperback) |
| Pages | 224 pp (hardcover edition) |
| ISBN | 978-1-57241-168-5 |
Originallyserializedin various newspapers inPrague,Vienna,andBerlin,From Nine to Ninebecame a very popular book and was translated into eight languages during the 1920s. In 1922Metro-Goldwyn-Mayerbought the film rights, but the film was never made.
Plot summary
editStanislaus Demba, an honest, well-intentioned student with little money at his disposal, is desperately in love with Sonja Hartmann, an office girl easily impressed by young men with money—a superficial young woman who, by common consent, is not worthy of his love and adoration. When Demba learns that Sonja is about to go on a holiday with another man, he tries to sell some valuable old librarytomeswhich he has borrowed but never returned to a shady antiques dealer so that he can offer Sonja a more expensive trip. The prospective buyer of the books, however, calls the police, and Demba is arrested. While he is beinghandcuffedDemba jumps out of anatticwindow and makes his escape.
It is nine o'clock in the morning, and Demba embarks on his odyssey by furtively wandering around the streets of Vienna while hiding his handcuffed hands under his overcoat. His two immediate aims now are (a) to get rid of his handcuffs by some means or other without being caught by the police and (b) to raise the money necessary for a trip to, say,Venice,Italy. People who realize that he is unwilling to show his hands either believe he is some kind offreakwith adeformityor a dangerous criminal carrying apistol.Throughout the first part of the novel, Demba repeatedly refers to "his hands being tied", but everyone—including the majority of readers—assumes that he is speakingmetaphorically.The novel has a morbid ending.
Translations
edit- From Nine to Nine- Translated byLily Lore.1926The Viking Press
- Between Nine and Nine-ISBN978-1-57241-168-5
- Translated by Edward Larkin and Thomas Ahrens. 2009Ariadne Press
References
edit- Hans-Harald Müller: "Begegnung mit dem Tod ohne Folgen",Zwischen neun und neun(Munich:Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2004), pp. 215ff.
Read on
edit- Ambrose Bierce:"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"(short story,1891)
- William Golding:Pincher Martin(novel,1956)
External links
edit- Zwischen neun und neun,original German text at Project Gutenberg