Monday 5 April 2010

Reading Herta Müller in Berlin

Going round the splendid independent bookshop just off the Kollwitzplatz I bought myself some books by Herta Müller whose work I've not read before. I'm reading a very slim volume called Der Fremde Blick oder Das Leben ist ein Furz in der Laterne. The language is wonderfully precise and poetic, the subject matter and setting - totalitarian Romania - less so. Harrowing but brilliant writing. It's also interesting to read someone writing in German about the Romanian context as I wander around Berlin that has changed so much, holds so many diverse and complex memories for me, and where I almost don't understand the underground map anymore.

1 Comment:

dagmar said...

Yes, it is wonderful language. I read "Atemschaukel", although quite depressing.