Goodbye to Berlin, Section 1 Summary

"A Berlin Diary (Autumn 1930)"

The author begins this section of the book with a description of the street life outside the rooming house where he lives (similar, if not identical, to the boarding house William lives in "The Last of Mr. Norris - the landlady, Fraulein Schroeder, is the same). He describes himself as "a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking..." He also describes the characters, routines and relationships of the other inhabitants of the boarding house - Fraulein Kost (a friendly prostitute), Fraulein Mayr (a large boned, Nazi vaudeville entertainer), and Bobby (the enigmatic bouncer / bartender at a bar called The Troika, which is also referred to in "...Mr. Norris").

The author then describes, at some length, the atmosphere and activities at The Troika on a night when he visits Bobby -...