Saturday, February 09, 2013

Five top books about life behind the Iron Curtain

Philip Sington is the author of The Einstein Girl, Zoia’s Gold, and, his latest novel, The Valley of Unknowing.

One of five top books on life behind the Iron Curtain that he named for the Wall Street Journal:
The Wall Jumper
by Peter Schneider (1983)

In the minds of many, the Berlin Wall became synonymous with the Iron Curtain itself. Many writers have been drawn to examine its effects, but few have done so with more wit and verve than Peter Schneider. In his novel "The Wall Jumper," a nameless West Berliner travels back and forth between the two halves of the city gathering material for a putative work of fiction. Of special interest to him are people who have managed to cross and recross the Wall by illegal means: some to visit lovers, some to see Western movies, others just because, like the proverbial Everest, it's there. The listless, hedonistic inhabitants of West Berlin are revealed as vividly as their cowed but resourceful counterparts in the East. The result is a remarkable exploration of how people are shaped by the state and the system they grow up in.
Read about another book on Sington's list.

Visit Philip Sington's website.

Writers Read: Philip Sington.

The Page 69 Test: The Valley of Unknowing.

My Book, The Movie: The Valley of Unknowing.

--Marshal Zeringue