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Love and politics
JENNY FARRELL welcomes that rare thing - an authentic account of life East Germany that is both gripping as a novel and politically sentient
ART EVERYWHERE: A mural by GDR artist Martin Schmidt on the side of the school building in Weischlitz, Saxony
GORDON PARSONS steps warily through the pessimistic world view of an influential US conservative
HENRY BELL takes issue with the assertion that basic income is a remedy for poverty when it doesn’t address the inbuilt inequality of capitalism
RON JACOBS welcomes an investigation of the murders of US leftist activists that tells the story of a solidarity movement in Chile
RITA DI SANTO surveys the smorgasbord of films on offer at this year’s festival
Reviews of A New Kind Of Wilderness, The Marching Band, Good One and Magic Farm by MARIA DUARTE, ANDY HEDGECOCK and MICHAL BONCZA
SCOTT ALSWORTH foresees the coming of the smaller, leaner, and class conscious indie studio, with art as its guiding star
Kairos
Jenny Erpenbeck, Granta, £16.99
TO read Jenny Erpenbeck’s novel is an eye-opener for those who wish to find out more about life in East Germany (GDR) in the final years of its existence and beyond.
Unprejudiced readers will discover a highly cultured society, a place where everybody has free access to education, training and a job. For readers who remember the GDR, the book includes a wealth of references to a dizzying array of fine artists who lived there or those who were part of the anti-fascist tradition.
The novel spans the years 1986 to 1992, with the final section depicting the dissolution of the state, mass redundancies, unemployment, unaffordable rents and cultural hollowness.
Similar stories
The fall of the Berlin Wall enabled neofascist activity to spill over into East Germany, laying the groundwork for the strengthening of right-wing forces today, writes JACOB YASKO
JOHN GREEN takes issue with a mainstream novel designed to denigrate the GDR
JOHN GREEN wades through the autobiography of Angela Merkel in search any trace of political vision or historical awareness
JENNY FARRELL welcomes the first memoir to be published in English from a woman’s point of view, giving the perspective of a GDR spy