|
|
|
|
||
|
HELP | |
|
This item may be
Check for Availabilityout of stock. Click on the button below to search for this title in other formats.  This title in other formats:Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wallby Anna Funder
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:In this anecdotal history, Anna Funder tells extraordinary stories from the underbelly of the most perfected surveillance state of all time: the former East Germany. Stasiland is a powerful account of the courage of those who withstood the dictatorship and the consequences for those who collaborated: from Miriam, a 16-year-old who failed a desperate attempt to scale the Wall, to an ex-Stasi cartographer living in an apartment lined with propaganda. This is a lyrical and gripping debut novel. Review:"Funder does full justice to these stories without milking them. She's a good listener and fine at channeling the voices of her interviewees. It's their own words that ennoble or exonerate or damn them. But it is in the minor incidents that you feel what it means to live under a system of rigidly implemented derangement. It's a picture of a land where Orwell's newspeak was the common parlance....The crimes of Fascism offend our sense of justice and morality. And while the crimes of Communism do the same, the system Funder writes about here has a weird power to offend our intellect, our respect for logic, rationality, coherence, reason." Charles Taylor, Salon.com (read the entire Salon review) Review:"Sydney-based Funder's impressive debut crisply renders her pursuit of East Berlin's ghosts....The former [German Democratic Republic] may be out of the news these days, but Funder's fully humanized portrait of the Stasi's tentacles reads like a warning of totalitarian futures to come. Colorful, intensely observed, well executed, with lots of black humor and disturbing undertones." Kirkus Reviews Review:"Funder...finds herself captivated by stories of people who resisted the Stasi — moving stories that she collects in her first book, which was shortlisted for two literary awards in Australia....Filtered through Funder's own keen perspective, these dramatic tales highlight the courage that ordinary people can display in torturous circumstances." Publishers Weekly Review:"What the reader learns from these stories is that evil swings like a pendulum, from the banal to the surreal, but no matter where it is in the spectrum, it always leaves pain behind." Frank Caso, Booklist Review:"[A] notable debut....Although this is [her] first book, Funder writes with skill and style. Highly recommended..." Library Journal Review:"Funny, heartbreaking, stirring...she tells the story of a collapse of a way of life with wit, style, and sympathy." Marie Claire Review:"An appealing blend of investigative and reflective reporting, with powerful human-interest stories....There is no denying Funder's journalistic talents." Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
Other books you might like
| |||
|
| ||||
|
||||
Don't Miss
