But even if you just want to read the book for pure enjoyment, Tom Tykwer's Lola rennt book has a lot to offer, including Lola animation flip-pages (Daumenkino), stills from the movie, and a mini-CD with dialogue and a song from the film (“Wish”) and Hans Paetsch's introductory narration (“Der Mensch... die wohl geheimnisvolle Spezies unseres Planeten.”) You'll also find an interview with director Tom Tykwer about creating his film, plus imaginary biographical information about the characters in the film. Among other things, you'll learn that Lola was born in Berlin on April 10, 1977, that her father's mistress is an only-child (Einzelkind), and that the bum (Penner) likes the music of Leonard Cohen and Velvet Underground.

Also of Interest:
Franka Potente (Bio in German)
See below!

Although the book is a novelization of the film, rather than a true film script (Drehbuch), it contains all the words spoken in the film. Like the film itself, the book is divided into three sections entitled "Erste," "Zweite" and "Dritte Runde." Even though I have viewed the movie on DVD many times before, by reading the lines of dialogue and the descriptive text, I was able to understand several story elements more clearly than from just viewing the film.

The book alone is worth its modest price (only 7.50 euro; $6.90 plus S&H from IBIS in the U.S.), but the included mini-CD is a very nice bonus. It contains about nine minutes of dialogue from the film (intro narrative, Manni's phone call, the grocery store robbery, and Lola and Manni's in-bed conversation) mixed with the song “Wish” sung by Potente.

It's rather difficult to criticize a book this good, but I did have a few minor disappointments. There is almost nothing about the film's shooting locations in Berlin. I would have liked to learn more about that, but the otherwise interesting interview with Tykwer (by Michael Töteberg) barely mentions locations. If you have the DVD version of “Run Lola Run” with its running commentary (in English) by Tykwer and Potente, you won't learn too much from the interview that is new. But these are minor failings. I don't think anyone who buys this Lola rennt book will regret it. I certainly don't. (See "Where to Buy" below.)

M O R E > Review: Franka Potente (Bio in German)

M O R E > Lola and Potente Pages

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Where to Buy
Lola rennt: Das Buch zum Film (ISBN: 3499224550, Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag), 1998) can be ordered from the following sources:

Amazon.de (Germany)

IBIS German Books (USA)
International Book Import Service, Inc.
P.O. Box 8188
Lynchburg, TN 37352-8188 USA
Tel. 1-800-277-4247
Email: ibis@IBIService.com
Note: My own order from IBIS arrived within two days.

Lola rennt: Das Buch zum Film can also be checked out from the library of the Goethe Institute Chicago and perhaps other Goethe Institutes as well.