FICTION

Here in Berlin

by Cristina García
Counterpoint. Oct. 2017. 224p. ISBN 9781619029590. $26; ebk. ISBN 9781619029705. F
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This latest from García, a National Book Award finalist for Dreaming in Cuban, recounts conversations held by the narrator, known only as the "visitor," with strangers around modern-day Berlin. Most of the interactions are with people who lived through World War II, from a Jewish woman who hid in a coffin built by her husband to a woman who defended former Nazis in court. We hear the story of one woman who performs cataract surgery and another who is happy that her cataracts have blurred her vision so she can no longer see her reflection in the mirror. Others have more anecdotal stories, e.g., a doppelganger of Hitler's wife, Eva Braun, and a man who was commissioned to create a new dance craze by the German Ministry of Culture.
VERDICT Unfortunately, most of García's vignettes are only a few pages long, leaving readers no chance of getting to know the emotions or details of the characters' lives. This novel touches on complex themes such as exile, memory, and life in wartime but without much depth.
Reviewed by Kate Gray, Boston P.L., MA , Sep 15, 2017
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