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A review by corinnekeener
The End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck
5.0
We read The End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck for episode 63 of The Bookstore Podcast. It's a podcast about books. You can find it at that link, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Originally, we were interested in The End of Days because at the time we were choosing what to read, it was the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Erpenbeck was born in East Berlin, and as I was born just 9 months before the fall, I really do not know a world with the wall. Maybe I was expecting something a little more straightforwardly historical. I don't know, exactly. But what I was given was a remarkably emotional experience that I will fail to put into words here (and in the episode, mostly, sorry).
If you're reading this wondering if you should read the book, I won't spoil anything except to tell you that Book 3 (the third section of the book) will probably make you want to quit. It made me want to quit. It was a lot of communist political talk and rather punishing, but stick through it. Don't bother committing any Comrade's name to memory, the small details on their own are not as important as what they add up to. The rest of the book will be your reward.
I'm very much looking forward to reading more Erpenbeck.
Originally, we were interested in The End of Days because at the time we were choosing what to read, it was the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Erpenbeck was born in East Berlin, and as I was born just 9 months before the fall, I really do not know a world with the wall. Maybe I was expecting something a little more straightforwardly historical. I don't know, exactly. But what I was given was a remarkably emotional experience that I will fail to put into words here (and in the episode, mostly, sorry).
If you're reading this wondering if you should read the book, I won't spoil anything except to tell you that Book 3 (the third section of the book) will probably make you want to quit. It made me want to quit. It was a lot of communist political talk and rather punishing, but stick through it. Don't bother committing any Comrade's name to memory, the small details on their own are not as important as what they add up to. The rest of the book will be your reward.
I'm very much looking forward to reading more Erpenbeck.