Tom Saller gelingt die Kunst, wichtige historische Ereignisse mit den Einzelschicksalen seiner Protagonisten zu verknüpfen und daraus einen lehrreichen und mitreißenden Roman zu schaffen.

 

Die Rahmenhandlung spielt im Jahr 2001, wo Thomas das Notizbuch seiner Uroma Martha zu einem Millionenpreis versteigert. Martha hielt darin ihre Erlebnisse an der Kunstschule Bauhaus in Weimar sowie nach Kriegsbeginn in ihrer Heimat Pommern fest. Berühmte Bauhaus-Künstler wie Paul Klee und Wassily Kandinsky verewigten sich ebenfalls in dem Büchlein. Die Höchstbietende bleibt zunächst anonym, lädt Thomas dann jedoch zu einem Abendessen voll überraschender Wendungen ein.

 

In der zweiten Erzählebene begleitet der Leser die junge Martha durch ihr wechselhaftes Leben vor und während des Zweiten Weltkriegs. In Pommern aufgewachsen, geht sie als Schülerin ans Bauhaus, wo sie sich zu einer Pionierin im Ausdruckstanz entwickelt. Kurz vor Kriegsbeginn kehrt Martha jedoch mit ihrer Tochter Hedi in ihre Heimat zurück und erlebt dort Tragisches, bevor sie schließlich fliehen muss.

 

Die Geschichte bietet eine Menge emotionale, erschreckende und bewegende Momente und lässt sich flüssig lesen. Besonders zu Beginn hat mich die bildreiche Sprache begeistert, die das Geschehen auf ungewöhnliche Weise lebendig werden ließ. Leider hatte ich das Gefühl, dass der Stil mit dem Fortschreiten des Buches etwas nüchterner und weniger inspirierend wurde. Trotzdem halte ich „Wenn Martha tanzt“ für ein empfehlenswertes Buch, das in einigen Passagen besonders aktuell erscheint.

Christine/Chris  lived with her sister Ron and her man Joe and their dog Buster. The thing was Chris was the only live person in the house the rest where ghosts but that was okay because Chris could see and talk to the dead. Ron had been a successful author and left the royalties from her books to Chris but Ron too had been killed as she had been pushed down the stairs and died. Christine was a medium and she was the real deal.Christine doesn’t charge people she just wants to help both the dead and living. Derek is a non believer and a crime reporter who lost his brother to a violent crime and still felt guilty even though it had been fifteen years . Jimmy had been killed by a thug from a home invasion and the murder had never been solved. Derek also had a reason for his non belief. When Jimmy had been murdered Derek was thirteen and his father paid a psychic to try to communicate with Jimmy and  the person was a fraud and totally screwed them over. So Jimmy did a news piece on Christine and in his mind and many others proved she was a fraud and hurt Christine's reputation as well as Christine . But this was deja vu as  when Chris was in high school and Derek a junior in college he had come to Chris’s school to write a piece on her paranormal club he had written such a nasty piece that the club had almost been shut down.  Ron is very mad and finds Derek’s home and goes to haunt it when she finds out it is already haunted by Derek’s brother Jimmy but he doesn’t know how to get Derek’s attention. Ron decides to help him and says Chris will help him to. Ron also teaches Jimmy some tricks to draw Derek’s attention and promises to return so Jimmy can communicate with Derek and move on. It has been fifteen long years for Jimmy.  Derek doesn’t want Christine near him as he blames her for the tricks Jimmy did trying to get Derek’s attention. Even though Christine mentions Jimmy’s murder and he was there Derek doesn’t believe her and thinks she just looked up Jimmy’s murder and got the information.  Derek does finally remember the incident when he had been a junior in college as he had felt Chris was familiar to him.  Now Chris feels a sizzle with the smallest touch from Derek.  Derek showed up one morning with coffee and donuts and apologized for his piece on the news and said he would make it right somehow. Jimmy had finally got through to Derek and talked to him using scrabble tiles. She also gave Derek a  ghost box that somehow allowed ghosts to talk through to the living. Then Derek asked for Chris’s help with Jimmy and she forgave Derek and agreed.

I loved this story it was great. I chuckled while reading this book at times and choked up once or twice. I loved how Ron still felt protective  as the big sister even though she was dead. I loved how forgiving Chris was especially that wasn’t the first time Derek had hurt her and almost destroyed something that was important to Chris. Also that Chris was willing to help Derek even f it put her and Derek in danger. I liked Derek’s and Chris’s relationship after Derek finally believed that Chris was the real deal and not a fraud. I understood why Derek was like he was until Jimmy finally broke through to Derek. I absolutely loved this story, and the plot and pace. It was an easy and fun read, I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this story and I highly recommend.

 

I love reading paranormal books. And My favorite cast of characters are ghosts.. This book was one of the better ones I have read. I love how the characters were predominately ghosts. There were very limited alive characters in the book and they had tiny parts. One the sister had a bit larger part but it was still a small part. I really enjoyed that this book was written in 1st person or should I say 1st ghost since it was the recently deceased Veronica's story.

 

Veronica "Ron" and her sister own their own paranormal research group. They finally get a chance to investigate a house all paranormal enthusiasts have been dreaming of. Veronica against her sisters wishes goes to the house alone to get a feel for the place. Once there she is killed and becomes one of the resident ghosts of the house. 

 

She learns from the other ghosts in the house that Sarah a small child ghost has turned this house into a prison for all of their souls and there s no escape. Veronica does not this news setting down and is determined to get them all out of the house. She knows her sister will come back to pick up the equipment that she brought with her on the day of her death and starts planning how to communicate with her. 

 

Her sister has always been able to see ghosts but with the way Sarah has their prison set up she knows her sister will not be able to see her. So sh strikes up a plan with the hep of the other ghosts to contact her sister. Eventually Ron figures out what she can and cannot do and how emotions play a part in enabling her to be able to touch things, make herself heard and eventually leave the house. She also figures out that Sarah must be beaten to save all of their souls.

 

This is kind of a short book, which is good because I couldn't put it down. I read late into the night but finished and was actually able to get some sleep, if it had been longer I probably would of never got any sleep I would of set up all night, 

 

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

 

 

 

I really love ghost stories. This book was a very interesting one that's for sure. Veronica or Ronnie as people call her is one of the ghost in the book. When the book starts she had just died. I liked that the ghost were being kept their by a mean little ghost child. Sarah is the awful and scary girl ghost. What happened to her and why was something that's for sure. Some other ghost are Joe who Ronnie likes, Lilly, Ruth, Maxwell, Ed, and Clarice who she is might surprise you, more surprising is who killed her and why. Of course the alive person is Ronnie's sister Chris, who can see and talk to died people. Chris, Gus, and Ronnie are ghost hunters. 

 

Ronnie I liked, but my favorite was Lilly. How she died was awful, and something that happens to her in the book was awful and sad. Yes she's a ghost but remember Sarah the ghost that are keeping them there is not your normal ghost. 

 

I thought the ending was a very interesting why to end the story. I really enjoyed the book a lot and give it 4 1/2 stars. 

 

Bauhaus 1919-1933: Workshops for Moderni... Director's Foreword, by Glenn D. Lowry
Lenders to the Exhibition
Acknowledgments
Curator's Preface, by Barry Bergdoll and Leah Dickerman

--Bauhaus Fundaments, Leah Dickerman
--Bauhaus Multiplied: Paradoxes of Architecture and Design in and after the Bauhaus, Barry Bergdoll

Plates
--Walter Gropius and Lyonel Feininger: Bauhaus Manifesto. 1919, Charles W. Haxthausen
--Lothar Schreyer: Death House for a Woman. c.1920, Klaus Weber
--Walter Determann: Bauhaus Settlement Weimar. 1920, Marco de Michelis
--Josef Albers: Lattice Picture. 1921, Peter Nisbet
--Marcel Breuer and Gunta Stölzl: "African" Chair. 1921, Christopher Wilk
--Theodor Bogler: Teapots. 1923, Juliet Kinchin
--Unknown Weaver, possibly Else Mögelin Wall Hanging. 1923, T'ai Smith
--Vasily Kandinsky: Designs for Wall Paintings. 1922, Christine Mehring
--László Moholy-Nagy: Constructions in Enamel. 1923, Brigid Doherty
--Wilhelm Wagenfeld and Carl Jakob Jucker: Table Lamp. 1923-24, Frederic J. Schwartz
--Joseph Hartwig: Chess Sets. 1922-24, Benjamin H. D. Buchloh
--Alma Buscher: "Ship" Building Toy. 1923, Christine Mehring
--Oskar Schlemmer: Grotesque I. 1923, Paul Paret
--Oskar Schlemmer: Study for the Triadic Ballet. 1924, Paul Paret
--Herbert Bayer: Advertising Structures. 1924-25, Hal Foster
--Color Plans for Architecture. 1925-26, Marco de Michelis
--Walter Gropius and László Moholy-Nagy: Bauhaus Book Series. 1925-30, Adrian Sudhalter
--Herbert Bayer: Designs for "Universal" Lettering. 1925 and 1927, Ellen Lupton
--Gunta Stölzl: 5 Choirs. 1928, T'ai Smith
--László Moholy-Nagy: Photograms, Michael W. Jennings
--Marcel Breuer: Club Chair, Frederic J. Schwartz
--Lucia Moholy: Photograph of Georg Muche. 1927, Matthew S. Witkovsky
--Marianne Brandt: Our Unnerving City. 1926, Matthew S. Witkovsky
--Hannes Meyer: German Trade Unions School, Bernau. 1928-30, Detlef Mertins
--Exercises for Color Theory Courses, Hal Foster
--László Moholy-Nagy: Light Prop for an Electric Stage. 1930, Alex Potts
--Wallpaper Design, Juliet Kinchin
--Paul Klee: Fire in the Evening. 1929, Alex Potts
--Pius Pahl: House C. 1932-33, Detlef Mertins
--Oskar Schlemmer: Bauhaus Stairway. 1932, Andreas Huyssen

--14 Years Bauhaus: A Chronicle, Adrian Sudhalter with Research Contributions by Dara Kiese

Index
Photograph Credits
Trustees of The Museum of Modern Art