Novel set in LEIPZIG

28th April 2021

Love in Five Acts by Daniela Krien, novel set in Leipzig. Translated by Jamie Bulloch.

More than 150,000 copies have been sold in Germany and it has been a Der Spiegel no.1 best seller.

The lives of five women are interleaved in this quasi documentary-style rendering of life in Leipzig after the fall of the Wall. Paula is first up followed by her friend Judith, then Brida, Malika and Jorinde.

From the outset, it is clear that the stories will plumb the depths of these women’s lives in the 21st Century and explore their emotional responses to the situations they face, and examine their parts in creating any given scenario.  Paula is struggling with the loss of a child and the loss of her husband. Judith is a doctor and balances her life with equestrian pursuits whilst trawling the internet for a suitable partner and then seeing if there is a fit between for her with her chosen man. Brida is a writer, who finds it difficult to settle to her task, Malika seeks approval from her parents and must pick up the pieces after her relationship ends. And last but not least there is Malika’s sister Jorinde, who is an actor and has found herself pregnant for the third time.

The issues with which the women are faced are all set against their early experiences of East Germany and the ripple effects from the unification of the country. Their situations and responses are individual yet somehow universal, these are the lives writ large of “everywoman“, beautifully observed. The narrative has an almost filmic quality, the camera pans in, then withdraws to capture the bigger picture.

I found the experience of reading this book interesting. I was very engaged with Paula and then of course moved on to the next woman, Judith. I then had difficulty recalling Paula’s story, and Judith became distinctly hazy as I began Brida’s story and so forth. By the end I felt I had experienced a virtual trip through the lives of generic women, exploring circumstances that are repeated in Germany and around the world everyday. I felt somehow more bonded with their multiple issues than with their characters. I assume that this was an intentional ploy by the author – as a reader you are invited into each life for a snapshot period and then you dive into the life of the next woman (hence the choice of beautiful book cover, perhaps). The writing is terrific, as is the translation, and the author can definitely tell a story. Very readable.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

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