I’ve read Stasiland, Anna Funder’s clear-eyed, empathetic testament to the dreadful consequences of totalitarianism, in which people tell their stories of life in the GDR, the most spied upon society of its time, and the opening of the Stasi’s files. Having lived all my life in a country that no matter what I think of its government I’m free to say what I like about it, don’t have to watch my ps and qs in front of friends and acquaintances in case they’ve been inveigled into spying on me, and am free to go wherever I want, I’m fascinated by what it was like not to have this freedom in a European country. Maxim Leo’s Red Love offered another glimpse into the paranoid world of the GDR, where truth really is often stranger than fiction.
Leo explores his family history through written memoirs, letters and interviews. Surprisingly,
These four, in themselves, are fascinating subjects but Leo is at his best when chronicling the last years of the GDR, the strangeness of wild parties during what he calls the ‘end-times of Prenzlauer Berg’, the bohemian quarter now a yuppie enclave. Gerhard takes him to France in 1987, hoping to show him some of his own history but the seventeen-year-old Leo is distracted by all that the West has to offer, seeing life in colour rather than drab GDR grey for the first time. After the fall of the Wall a little disenchantment sets in – he becomes fed up with the way in which West Berliners treat the old East as if it’s a ‘cholera zone’. It’s a fascinating portrait but this is a privileged family, well-connected within the GDR establishment. I’d love to read a biography of an ordinary GDR family.
I can’t let you go without introducing you to Shiny New Books, an excellent new magazine put together by four lovely bloggers – Annabel, Victoria, Simon and Harriet. It’s stuffed full of reviews (including my own of Louise Levine’s The Following Girls), interviews and book news. Well worth a visit and you can subscribe to it, too.
Sounds like an intriguing story and family. It is interesting how many stories are beginning to be told from this era, no longer just war stories but those who lived during those times. Thanks for the intro to Shiny New Books, have just been over to visit. 🙂
It’s fascinating, Claire. I’d also recommend Stasiland if you’re interested in life in the GDR. Makes you thank your own lucky stars. Hope you liked Shiny New Books – I’m full of admiration at what they’ve put together.