<p>Sebastian Haffner, one of the most famous post-war journalists is back in the news after his little-known novel made it to the best seller's list.</p><p>Haffner had shot to fame after his writings on the Nazi regime which even forced him to flee out of Germany. </p><p>As reported by The Guardian, Haffner's novel titled Abschied which roughly translates to Parting was discovered by his children from his desk.</p><p>The dusty old pages of the manuscripts which was written more than 90 years ago made it to the Spiegel bestseller list following its debut not more than a month ago.</p><p>His son -- Oliver Pretzel -- told Suddeutsche Zeitung publication that his family had deliberated for years over whether to release Parting after Haffner’s death in 1999.</p><p>“My sister didn’t think the novel was very good,” Pretzel, a professor of mathematics based in London, told the German publication. </p><p>“I initially shared this view somewhat. But when I re-read it and since I set about translating it into English, I suddenly realised how ingeniously constructed it is.”</p><p>In an epilogue to the novel, the literary critic Volker Weidermann says the family’s fears about its publication were unfounded.</p><p>“It it completes the historical picture that Haffner has presented to us in his historical writings because it describes the root cause of the grief on which his later books lean, of everything of a good Germany that was lost – cosmopolitanism, tolerance, and humanity. </p><p>"Haffner himself repeatedly emphasised that history unfolds in private micro stories that, together, make up greater world history. In Parting he has set out this core idea.”</p><p>It may be recalled that Haffner fled Germany in 1938 along with his fiancee. He later worked as a journalist for the Observer in London and became a prominent columnist for the news magazine Stern.</p><p>The novel talks about the author's experiences and feelings as he contemplates leaving Germany in the face of rising Nazism</p><p>The novel is set in Paris in the spring of 1931.</p>
<p>Sebastian Haffner, one of the most famous post-war journalists is back in the news after his little-known novel made it to the best seller's list.</p><p>Haffner had shot to fame after his writings on the Nazi regime which even forced him to flee out of Germany. </p><p>As reported by The Guardian, Haffner's novel titled Abschied which roughly translates to Parting was discovered by his children from his desk.</p><p>The dusty old pages of the manuscripts which was written more than 90 years ago made it to the Spiegel bestseller list following its debut not more than a month ago.</p><p>His son -- Oliver Pretzel -- told Suddeutsche Zeitung publication that his family had deliberated for years over whether to release Parting after Haffner’s death in 1999.</p><p>“My sister didn’t think the novel was very good,” Pretzel, a professor of mathematics based in London, told the German publication. </p><p>“I initially shared this view somewhat. But when I re-read it and since I set about translating it into English, I suddenly realised how ingeniously constructed it is.”</p><p>In an epilogue to the novel, the literary critic Volker Weidermann says the family’s fears about its publication were unfounded.</p><p>“It it completes the historical picture that Haffner has presented to us in his historical writings because it describes the root cause of the grief on which his later books lean, of everything of a good Germany that was lost – cosmopolitanism, tolerance, and humanity. </p><p>"Haffner himself repeatedly emphasised that history unfolds in private micro stories that, together, make up greater world history. In Parting he has set out this core idea.”</p><p>It may be recalled that Haffner fled Germany in 1938 along with his fiancee. He later worked as a journalist for the Observer in London and became a prominent columnist for the news magazine Stern.</p><p>The novel talks about the author's experiences and feelings as he contemplates leaving Germany in the face of rising Nazism</p><p>The novel is set in Paris in the spring of 1931.</p>
