Scan barcode
A review by gregzimmerman
Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck
3.0
I read this before, during, and after a trip to Berlin. In fact, parts of this are set on the same block where we stayed in Berlin, so that was fun.
It's a very, very, very slow, simmering read about a love affair between a 19-year-old art student and a married mid-50s writer in the mid- to late 1980s.
It was interesting to read about the conditions in Berlin as the winds of change are blowing, and reunification is imminent. The turmoil of the times matches the increasing turmoil of this fraught relationship.
But man, is it slow. I mean, this is world-class slow burn. You have to be well-caffeinated and in the right reading mood to take this on. It took me a whole month to get through this less than 300-page-book.
It's a very, very, very slow, simmering read about a love affair between a 19-year-old art student and a married mid-50s writer in the mid- to late 1980s.
It was interesting to read about the conditions in Berlin as the winds of change are blowing, and reunification is imminent. The turmoil of the times matches the increasing turmoil of this fraught relationship.
But man, is it slow. I mean, this is world-class slow burn. You have to be well-caffeinated and in the right reading mood to take this on. It took me a whole month to get through this less than 300-page-book.