{"product_id":"the-stasi-poetry-circle-9780571331208","title":"The Stasi Poetry Circle","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"+1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe extraordinary true story of the Stasi's poetry club: \u003ci\u003eStasiland \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Lives of Others\u003c\/i\u003e crossed with \u003ci\u003eDead Poets Society\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEngrossing.' \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRemarkable.' \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMagnificent.' Phillipe Sands\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGripping.' \u003ci\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA history so outlandish and unlikely that you feel it must be true . . . [A] grippingly well-written book.' Anthony Quinn, \u003ci\u003eObserver \u003c\/i\u003eBook of the Week\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1982, East Germany's fearsome secret police  convinced that writers were embedding subversive messages in their work  decided to train their own writers, weaponising poetry in the struggle against the class enemy. Once a month, a group of soldiers and border guards gathered in a heavily guarded military compound in East Berlin for meetings to learn how to write lyrical verse.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJournalist Philip Oltermann spent five years rifling through Stasi files,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A magnificent book. I could not put it down. It is at once touching, exquis-ite, devastating and extraordinary - it's a wonderful narrative, with impeccable detective work, and beautifully written. It manages to be under-stated and thrilling, a kind of literary page turner. I loved it. It deserves to be very widely read and then turned into a movie.' - Philippe Sands, author of\u003ci\u003e EAST WEST STREET\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003ci\u003e THE RATLINE\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Faber \u0026 Faber","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49403112620375,"sku":"9780571331208","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780571331208.jpg?v=1730482447","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-stasi-poetry-circle-9780571331208","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}