This is what it was to live in Berlin. To be surrounded by a truth you don’t acknowledge, that you refuse to see. But there was always going to be a point when it collides with you in the street and coughs in your face.
Taken in by his uncle in 1906, Rudi has found a niche for himself apprenticed to the Academy’s photographer, his nose put out of joint by Fräulein Gottschalk’s apparent ability to transfer her visions to photographic plates without benefit of a camera. In 1929, Sara is unhappily married when a chance encounter introduces her to the love of her life, a cabaret singer who lives upstairs from her. Two decades later Sigi still longs for her lover, knowing that there’s little chance that a young Jewish woman could have survived the war. In 1969, glamour photographer Hans has set up a studio in one of the apartments and takes in a runaway from the East, offering her shelter. By the mid-’80s a Red Army faction is squatting in the building, planning an operation in which a naïve young woman becomes involved. Finally, in 2019 Heike takes her courage in her hands, accompanying her friend on a speed dating evening where she meets Yosuf, and thinks tentatively of a future.
The city constantly destroyed and remade, impatient to be in the future
Harding’s narrative criss-crosses the century or so her novel spans, weaving backwards and forwards, opening in 1986 with Tonja’s horrified witnessing of the explosion she’s helped bring about. Each section is told from a character’s perspective, some starting mid-sentence, all with distinctive voices. Through them all, Harding explores themes of endurance, war and its legacy, from Hans’ horror at the discovery of his mother’s proximity to the Nazi regime to Sigi’s distress at the loss of Sara. It’s all beautifully done: Harding’s smartly observed characters pop up in each other’s narratives as their stories unfold and connections are made. There’s a hint of the supernatural with Fräulein Gottschalk’s visions and their echoes which usually make me run a mile but it’s deftly handled. Just one criticism: I’d have liked a ‘90s/’00s thread exploring the immediate aftermath of the Wall’s collapse. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed Harding’s atmospheric novel which took me back to Berlin and all that the city has gone through.
John Murray Press: London 9781529376180 256 pages Hardback
On my wish list now. Structure sounds like Luckenbooth which we both loved and worked really well.
You’re right although, sadly, no devil-killing daughters! Hope you enjoy it, Helen.
Sounds great, and such a clever way to tell a story. And you remind me I have The House with the Stained-glass Window somewhere in the TBR mountain!! 😀
It is! The Stained-glass Window made me add Lviv to my travel list although it’s lower down than it was.
Such a clever idea, and a Berlin setting makes it even more tempting!
Absolutely! So attached am I to the city I read another novel set there this week: Peirene’s Marzhan, Mon Amour which is brilliant.
Oh yes! I read Claire’s review and it sounds wonderful.
Highly recommend it. I’ll be reviewing next week although you already sound convinced!
I love the way the approach in this one; very different from anything I’ve read so far. Going to keep an eye out for this.
It’s such a clever way to tell the story of a city, isn’t it. Hope you enjoy it if you get to it.
Thanks. I’ve only read a couple of books centred on the city. Isherwood’s portrait of the days just before the Nazis came in and then Francis Faviell on the post war days. So definitely interested in getting a broader picture.
I’ve read the Isherwoods but not come across Faviell. Thanks for the tip!
It’s the Dancing Bear. Her focus was more a family than the city but one gets a sense of that too.
Making a mental note of this (for when it comes in paperback) as the setting and characters sound very appealing. I like this type of premise too – as long as it’s not too contrived, which doesn’t appear to be the case here.
I’ve read several novels with this kind of structure. It’s so appealing and effective, if done well.
This is an excellent device for a novel, buildings have so many potential stories to tell. The setting and characters sound especially appealing. Definitely making a note of this one.
I’ve a fondness for this kind of structure. It’s a great way of capturing a city/country’s past.
Yes, please. Just my thing!
I love this structure and Harding handles it very well.
I love the idea of the same building over the course of a century. Strange that the time of the wall coming down is left out!
Odd, isn’t it? No idea why she decided not to include an early ’90s thread but it’s a shame.