Skip to main content
Digital Audiobook
Berlin Shuffle by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz

Listen to a sample

00:00
00:00

Berlin Shuffle

Publisher
Pushkin Press
Publish Date
15 January 2026
Run Time
7 hours 30 minutes
Format
Audiobook

Not available in your country

We don't have the rights to sell this audiobook where you are. If it's already in your library you can still listen to it in My Books.

What to expect

Berlin, 1920s: a beacon of culture and hedonism, but a political mess. The streets are crowded with war veterans, beggars, prostitutes and madmen, desperately chasing any means to secure a few marks or a roof over their heads. Come nighttime, a rag-tag group descends on the Jolly Huntsman pub to dance and drown their cares in all the schnapps they can afford. But in this society on the brink, pleasure all too easily erupts into violence.
A bleakly comic story of struggle and discontent on the fringes of the metropolis,  Berlin Shuffle is a blistering portrait of a divided society that would give way to fascism. Written when he was just twenty-two years old, Boschwitz's first novel displays his extraordinary talent for capturing Germany's self-destruction, which would tragically engulf him only five years later.

Critics Review

  • A welcome addition to Boschwitz's oeuvre. . . The book's greatest strength is showing, in day-to-day terms . . . an atmosphere in which a fascist government could arise. . . Many of the novel's concerns overlap with those of the present day

    Kirkus Reviews

  • Chilling and vividly portrayed . . . This clear-eyed novel from Boschwitz ( The Passenger), who died in 1942, excavates the resentments of a broad cast of German characters as the country slides toward fascism. . . The plot threads are seamlessly stitched together. . . Profound

    Publishers Weekly

User Reviews

No reviews yet.

Details

Author
Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz
Narrator
Neil Hellegers
Duration
7 hours 30 minutes
Release Date
15 January 2026
ISBN
9781805680772
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Pushkin Press
Genre
Classic fiction: literary and general, Fiction in translation

Synopsis

Berlin, 1920s: a beacon of culture and hedonism, but a political mess. The streets are crowded with war veterans, beggars, prostitutes and madmen, desperately chasing any means to secure a few marks or a roof over their heads. Come nighttime, a rag-tag group descends on the Jolly Huntsman pub to dance and drown their cares in all the schnapps they can afford. But in this society on the brink, pleasure all too easily erupts into violence. A bleakly comic story of struggle and discontent on the fringes of the metropolis, Berlin Shuffle is a blistering portrait of a divided society that would give way to fascism. Written when he was just twenty-two years old, Boschwitz's first novel displays his extraordinary talent for capturing Germany's self-destruction, which would tragically engulf him only five years later.

About xigxag

xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.

There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.

Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.

Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.