Not a Novel is a collection of writings and reflections by Jenny Erpenbeck. She looks back at her life, beginning with her schoolgirl days in East Berlin and life on Leipziger Strasse. She writes about growing up in the GDR, being twenty-two when the wall collapsed, working in a bakery, and finding her path as a writer. The book also explores her literary influences and the forces in her novels, including history, silence, and time, as well as America and Europe today.
Why You Should Read?
- Discover the thoughts that filled Jenny Erpenbeck's life from day to day over many years.
- Follow Jenny Erpenbeck from her schoolgirl days in East Berlin through growing up in the GDR.
- Experience her early adult years in a bakery after music, theater, and opera and her path to writing.
- Explore essays about her literary influences, including Thomas Bernhard, the Brothers Grimm, Kafka, and Thomas Mann.
About the Author
Jenny Erpenbeck is a German writer and opera director. She wrote The End of Days and Kairos.