Description
Book SynopsisScientist Nelly Senff is desperate to escape her life in East Berlin. The father of her two children has supposedly committed suicide, and she wants to leave behind the prying eyes of the Stasi.
But the West is not all she hoped for. Nelly and her children are held in Marienfelde, a refugee processing centre and no-man's-land between East and West. There she meets Krystyna, a Polish woman who hopes that medical treatment in the West will save her dying brother; Hans, a troubled actor released from prison in the East; and John, a CIA man monitoring the refugees for possible Stasi spies. All lives cross here, in this gateway to a new life.
Now an award-winning film
Trade ReviewFranck’s spare prose evokes an atmosphere of claustrophobic menace. Her unflinching gaze at lives in limbo…is a compelling and resonant read * Independent *
This is…a powerful novel by an impressive prose stylist and one that throws a spotlight, arrestingly, on a gloomy corner of history -- Stephanie Cross * Daily Mail *
Franck’s bleak novel excels in the portrayal of the camp’s oppressive no-man’s-land atmosphere -- Rebecca K. Morrison * The Times Literary Supplement *
Seamlessly translated by Anthea Bell * Independent *
A powerful and often moving novel, bleak and atmospheric -- Mandy Jenkinson * Nudge *
