A tragicomic satire from the heart of East Germany. Gabriela grows up in the East German town of Leibnitz. Her father is a famous surgeon, her mother a respected society hostess. The girl, however, struggles to fulfil their expectations. She shows no talent as a violinist and, worse, she fails to choose the right friends at school. When her father falls out of favour with the communists, Gabriela drops out of school. Eventually she ends up living beneath a canal bridge. Then the Wall falls. Can Gabriela seize a second chance in the new, united, Germany?

About the Author
Kerstin Hensel was born in 1961 in Karl-Marx Stadt in the former East Germany and studied in Leipzig. She has published over 30 books: novels, short story collections, poetry and plays. She has won numerous prizes, including the Anna-Seghers prize as well as the Lessing prize for her entire body of work.

Reviews
'An intense story... grotesque, macabre, poetic.' NEUES DEUTSCHLAND; 'An authentic story of East Germany.' DIE OST-WEST-WOCHENZEITUNG; '30 years of East German history narrated with laconic irony.' DIE ZEIT



Book Information
ISBN 9781908670380
Format Paperback
Imprint Peirene Press Ltd
Publisher Peirene Press Ltd