pick#readingeurope2020 Germany
An author goes in search of the story of Leni through the accounts of individuals who have known her. Leni, is 16 in 1938 so her life in cologne spans the rise and fall of nazism, sheltering and loving in a bunker amid carpet bombing, thru to emerging capitalism finding her at risk of losing her home in 70. Told with dark humour + love of the German people this is satirical poignant and political writing at it's best.
#Riotgrams day 9. Character that shares my name. That would be the character I was named after: Leni in Heinrich Boll's Gruppenbild mit Dame.
#Topreadsof2016 part 2. Another amazing group, from the mysteries of the universe to family drama. Group Portrait With Lady was my favourite fiction of the year but Moonglow was a close second. #SeasonsReadings2016
I couldn't find a #bestblurb so here is my favourite note in a secondhand book. "Bria! This is a really funny book, you should read it. German humour, anti-religious, with depth, strong feministic ties and lots of pseudoerotic stories about nuns. Thought of you when I read it. Happy birthday, 30 is a good age, love Jan." I feel like I could be friends with Bria and Jan. #SeasonsReadings2016
This book. The narrator tells the complex story of Leni Pfeiffer's life in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s through interviews with those who know her, love her, hate her, judge her. The documentary style is unusual and at first feels a little distant but it unspools beautifully. It's a masterful work full of empathy and understanding #recommendsday
Group Portrait with Lady | 
