Destiny’s Journey
Destiny’s Journey by Alfred Döblin, published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform in April 2014, is a memoir that reconstructs Döblin’s experiences during a tumultuous period in history. Spanning 338 pages, this edition presents a personal narrative drawn from notebooks kept while he worked in the French Ministry of Information in 1940, alongside reflections penned in Los Angeles during his refuge from the Second World War. The memoir explores the flight of Jewish and anti-Nazi intellectuals from Europe to America, detailing their fears, frustrations, and isolation.
Readers will find a unique perspective on the challenges faced by intellectuals during this era, as Döblin’s story diverges from that of many of his contemporaries. His family’s conversion to Catholicism in Los Angeles adds a distinctive layer to the narrative, which also covers his return to Europe as an officer with the French forces, where he engaged in efforts to denazify German literature. This memoir not only recounts personal experiences but also reflects broader themes of identity and belonging amidst historical upheaval.
Official synopsis Publisher
Reissued as a paperback by Plunkett Lake Press, Destiny’s Journey is a memoir reconstructed partly from notebooks that Döblin kept from the time he worked in the French Ministry of Information in the spring of 1940 and partly written without notes in Los Angeles where he took refuge during the Second World War. It tells the personal and generational story of the flight of Jewish and anti-Nazi intellectuals from Europe to America, their fear and frustration, isolation, and inability to work. Döblin’s story differs from that of other Jewish intellectuals and artists in that his family converts to Catholicism in Los Angeles. Unlike most of them, he returns to Europe as an officer with the French forces and works on denazifying German literature. The conversion narrative bridges the departure from and return to Europe. “The first part of ‘Destiny’s Journey’ [about] Döblin’s departure from Paris [in] 1940… is magisterial: acidly observed, saturated in telling detail, grimly comic and harrowing… with an exemplary introduction by Peter Demetz… an important, nourishing book” – John Simon, The New York Times
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