Banned by the Nazis, this haunting novel by a gay German writer in the 1930s is a rare early work of magic realism. It has no one main character, but evokes the sensations and impressions of a sultry September evening on the waterfront of Bremen, with its charm and tenderness, squalor and lust. It contains a stream of images with many characters: children, old and young people, men and women, townsfolk, performers, students and seamen.