Novel of escapism set in BERLIN

24th April 2023

I Laugh Me Broken by Bridget van der Zijpp, novel of escapism set in Berlin.

This is a beautifully written novel that truly takes the reader to Berlin, the city of eccentricity and hedonism, where life can be led at full tilt.

Ginny has left her boyfriend behind in New Zealand and heads for the city, knowing her cousin Mel is living there. Ginny is ostensibly going to write a book. Ginny’s aunt collared her, informing her that her mother – as is well known – committed suicide but that a devastating fault in her genetic heritage perhaps lay behind her action. Given Ginny has had little contact with her family, she has not been informed of the potentially devastating news, that she could be carrying a faulty gene, and given she is now in her mid thirties, it is something with which she has to wrestle. This new information precipitates her temporary move to Berlin. It is quite a shocking thought that a family could withhold information like that. Ginny could take a test to determine whether she has the faulty gene, but there is no known cure for the condition, should she develop the disease, which is named in the narrative.

Berlin is an interesting destination for Ginny. It is certainly a city where one can lose oneself, where one can meet a range of people and experiment with different styles of living. It is also, of course, a city with tremendous history and it is sobering for Ginny to clock that before WW2 people, who had the disease (and many other physical and emotional frailties), would have potentially faced euthanasia under the regime at the time. It is certainly a thought-provoking angle in the novel.

Here she is, then, in the Mitte area of Berlin, sharing an apartment with Frankie, who proves to be her anchor. Mel, her cousin, is busy enjoying the high life. There are great vignettes of the city, whether travelling by U-Bahn or heading out to Krumme Lanke (who normally goes there?) to take a dip in one of the many lakes that surround the city. The author observes the people, she adds smatterings of German, she has her characters pop in to the local Späti (the late-opening corner shop, ubiquitous across the city) and she illustrates some of the weird practices with which the city can be associated. There are plenty of trips around the well-known sights of the city, too.

I took the book with me to read whilst I was in Berlin and it really was delightful to have brought a book with me that evoked the city so well and echoed (some) of the experiences I myself was having.

Reading over a great cup of coffee and a croissant at Neumanns in Friedrichshain

I enjoyed this novel although at times it was in danger, on the one hand, of feeling like snapshots of the city, observations and experiences gathered by the author and brought together to take centre stage – it could at times lack a little cohesion. The narrative had a tendency to dot about and bring in new characters and hop off to explore new aspects. On the other, however, it underlined the fractured experience that underpinned Ginny’s emotional state as she tried to make up her mind about how to go forward. The writing is terrific and ultimately this will be a novel that will stay with me. Recommended, especially if you love the city.

On the book cover the Sunday Star Times is quoted as saying: ‘van der Zijpp is a master of theme’. I am unclear what that means.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

Catch the author on Twitter @Bavdz

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