Jenny Erpenbeck's novel tells five versions of one woman's life in the twentieth century. It begins with the death of a baby in Habsburg Galicia, then asks what would have happened if the child had lived, and continues through Vienna, Moscow, Stalin's purges and East Berlin. At the end of each chapter, a small chance determines a different path, and the heroine ages and dies in a new setting.
For readers of European fiction who like structural experiments and historical panoramas. It is a short, demanding but moving novel about chance, history and the lives it ends.
Deep, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Literary Connoisseur. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2012
- Publisher
- Knaus
- ISBN
- 9783813503692
- Language
- DE
