My Berlin Child

Description

In this autobiographical story, Wiazemsky's writes about her mother Claire as a young woman. At twenty-seven, Claire is still under the sway of a domineering father, the acclaimed author Francois Mauriac. With the Second World War raging, her desire for freedom prompts her to join the Red Cross in southern France, where she faces the horrors of war with a youthful naivete and audacity. When, having survived the months of bombing and bloodied patients, Claire realizes that rather than quelling her spirit her experiences have left her thirsting for more, she sets out for the heart of the fallen enemy: war-torn Berlin. Claire pities the German citizens in their desperation and is moved by the desolation of the once thriving metropolis. Yet, despite the devastation of war, there is life and love to be found there, as the ruined city becomes a magical and emotionally charged backdrop for a passionate romance.

Anne Wiazemsky is an acclaimed French actress, author and filmmaker born in West Berlin. She has written several award winning novels: Filles bien elevees (La Societe des Gens de Lettres Grand Prix for the Novel, 1988), Canines (Goncourt Prize, 1993), Hymnes a l'amour (1996, prix RTL-Lire), and Une poignee de gens (The French Academy's Grand Prix, 1998). Wiazemsky was married to the director Jean-Luc Godard and appeared in his films La Chinoise and Weekend. She lives in France. Alison Anderson's translations for Europa Editions include novels by Selim Nassib, Amelie Nothomb, and Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. She is the translator of The Elegance of the Hedgehog (Europa, 2008) and The Life of the Elves (Europa, 2016) by Muriel Barbery.

"The picture of life in France and Germany at the end of WWII is fascinating and vivid..." --Kirkus Reviews "[A] vivid encapsulation of war, where the worst of inhumanity exists side by side with the best of humanity, [My Berlin Child] makes the story of Claire, who held on tightly to her humanity amidst all the horror, an exaltation of possibility for us all." --Read All Day blog "Perhaps the most moving book of the season. A story of dignity told with a tasteful drop of distance...The ingenuity and the candor that radiates fromn Wiazemsky's prose is rare."--L'Humanite "My Berlin Child touches reades with the depth of its characters, with its portrayal of a troubled time, and with the purity of its style." --Lire "Anne Wiazemsky tells a story so extraordinary that it is wholly believable." --La Croix "What could have easily been presented in conventionally dry, chronological reportage, Wiazemsky brings to life by approaching her family history in an effectively nuanced, layered way."--Rain Taxi