Irina Liebmann
In Berlin
fiction
176pp (35,000 words)
IN BERLIN is one of the most unusual and intense Berlin novels ever written. Set in the early nineties, it explores the climate of upheaval and the conflicted inner worlds of characters who wanted to leave the East yet find a sense of liberation impossible to obtain even in the West.
Liebmann’s language is fast-paced and distinctive, transforming everyday incidents and the atmosphere of the city into extraordinarily powerful prose. In doing so she preserves a Berlin that no longer exists, yet in which the contemporary city, its significance and mutability is grounded.
IN BERLIN depicts the disorientation of life during a time of radical change, when social and political systems were in flux, yet the novel remains timelessly current and pressing.
Reviews
»There is a magic about language that carries the reader or listener along with the rhythm of the story, creating a kind of understanding that the intellect can only later corroborate. Irina Liebmann possesses exactly this linguistic magic.«
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
»Irina Liebmann’s prose is powerful and direct.«
Der Tagesspiegel
»In her concise, sober language and with a surprisingly fresh voice, Liebmann resurrects an era of turmoil.«
NDR Kultur
»Liebmann strikes as a cool observer, deeply stirred by a way of life that was expected to commit to clear lines but found itself in disruption.«
Hans-Dieter Schütt, Neues Deutschland
»What a book! This dense language, the intense atmosphere, the originality.«
Dirk Pilz, Berliner Zeitung
»When it comes to people's hopes and aspirations, Liebmann's language becomes extravagant and artistic.«
Lerke von Saalfeld, literature
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