'Emil and the Three Twins' by Erich Kastner

Emil and the three twins. Three Twins Yes, you read that correctly. Emil Tischbein has another adventure with his old friends the Professor, Gustav and Little Tuesday - this time by the sea. Of course, the detectives couldn't have an ordinary seaside holiday like other people - and when they become entangled with the mystery of the three acrobat twins and the wicked Herr Anders, it looks as if it's going to turn into a most extraordinary time for them all!

MY THOUGHTS:  

This is a quirky plot to match its quirky, self-contradictory title. It's clear this story will be slightly left of field from the moment Kastner gives two illustrated prefaces - one for readers of Emil and the Detectives and the other for fresh readers. He informs us former that Emil is 'still content to be the same excellent young fellow,' hoping to earn enough money so his mother can quit working. But this time, Kastner introduces a spanner in the works.

Sergeant Jeschke, now P.I. Jeschke, asks for Emil's blessing to propose to his mother. The sudden prospect of a new stepfather is a real curveball for Emil, who isn't okay with the idea, but generously hates to make waves. It takes some sage perspective from his wise grandmother for Emil's headspace to catch up with his outer compliance. (I love how she counsels Emil to consider his thumbs-up as an investment into his beloved mother's future, for ten years down the track, Emil may get married, and a young wife plus a middle-aged mother don't mix well beneath the same roof. She says she's tried both positions over the years, and knows. Therefore, holding his peace is essentially an investment into Emil's own future too.)

Meanwhile, Emil, Gustav, little Tuesday and Cousin Pony have all been invited to spend part of their summer holidays at the Professor's parents' beach house. At the seaside town, they come across the Three Byrons, a trio of circus acrobats comprising a father and two sons. The boys decide to make a charitable protest when the rumor reaches them that Dad Byron intends to cast off young Jackie, who is growing far bigger and bulkier than his brother, Mackie, because it's affecting their act. 

I enjoy reading about these German lads from the 1930s discussing philosophers such as Goethe. They expound on whether nature really endows all children with enough raw material to bloom like cabbage roses, or whether outside intervention from educational institutions is necessary to draw it out of them. During our homeschooling years, I used to come across both points of view, loud and clear. Perhaps Herr Haberland, the Professor's father, expresses best why the waters are still so murky.

'It's confoundedly hard training children either too much or too little, and the problem is different with every child. One develops his inherent abilities smoothly and another has to have them dragged out of him with a pair of forceps or they'd never come to light at all.'  

Hear hear, every homeschooling philosopher who pushes one particular method ought to take the message of this simple paragraph on board. 

Another highlight is seeing Grandmother and her two grandkids, Emil and Pony, view the sea for the first time. Cosmopolitan Pony sees it as, 'An invisible shop assistant unrolling bright silk on an endless counter.' Although the boys all laugh her down, I like her analogy. 

It's interesting how characters show up the attitudes and habits of their times. For example, Emil throws his sandwich wrapping out of the train window, to watch it blow against the shrubs along the track. Now this boy is super conscientious in all respects, so his action here indicates that being a litterbug simply wasn't a thing in the 1930s. Nobody ever gave it a passing thought.  

Some advice still holds true. One of Kastner's personal hobbies is to catch public transport to unfamiliar locations in his own city and just walk around. It sounds like a cheap and doable creativity and productivity hack for the 1930s and the 2020s alike. 

Overall, I consider this to be another gem from almost a century ago which should be more widely read by the age group who was its target audience back in its day. 

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Update: I've also read and reviewed The Flying Classroom, a wonderful Christmas tale. More Kastner to come.