so-soI actually really like a lot of this but i thought it was slightly too slow. It sucks to be an enemy of the state but sometimes there‘s nothing else to be.
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Go, Went, Gone | 
so-soI actually really like a lot of this but i thought it was slightly too slow. It sucks to be an enemy of the state but sometimes there‘s nothing else to be.
pickJust finished for book club tonight. Book club will be interesting, some people attending in person and some(me included) attending virtually.
This book ,I think , is a must read.
Certainly made me think.
pickA retired German academic finds purpose & meaning by supporting a group of refugees.
An interesting, well-researched exploration of the plight of those seeking asylum, in particular present day refugees from African countries entering Europe.
I‘d like to hope this novel could be read by people who might change their views after reading it. I imagine that was Erpenbeck‘s intention too🤞.
I look forward to discussing it at book club on Monday.
so-soI loved the first half of the book. Through a retired German professor's conversations with a group of refugee men, we learn about their lives and traumata. In his inner monologues, we learn about racism in Germany from Colonialism to Third Reich and GDR and the ludicrousness of EU refugee laws. Then it all becomes too simplified, clichéd and I lost interest. I read it to the end, but didn't enjoy it.
So so enjoying it but feels a little slow in parts .... it‘s very relevant to our times ... a retired professor enters the world of a number of refugees in Berlin .... very interesting 👍👍📚📚
pickWhile a fairly short book, it is a book that delves deeply into a subject that has both contemporary and historical aspects. It puts a human face on a story that can seem faceless at times. Read for the @bookcougars #readalong #contemporary #immigration #bookreview #bookstagram #fiction #2020 #litsyatoz #litsyatoz2020 #g
pickI've had this book on my shelves a few years but it took being stuck at home and a bookcougars readalong to get me to read it. Translated from the German, it's the story of Richard, a retired academic living in Berlin who encounters refugees and starts to learn about the complexity of issues and bureaucracy surrounding refugees in Germany. He is trying to help, or wants to, but is ill equipped.⤵️
Starting this for the @bookcougars readalong #bookcougarsreadalong #translatedfiction #jennyerpenbeck #gowentgone #currentlyreading
pickA belated #readaroundtheworld #Germany - it‘s slow & thoughtful, but I loved it.
When Richard retires from academia, a few years after his wife‘s death, he‘s at a loss. Looking for a new ‘research project‘, he starts visiting a home for refugees, asking questions and above all listening. And his world shifts a little.
There‘s no preaching, it‘s very subtle, but Erpenbeck packs a huge amount into a short book. An important story beautifully told.
Starting this for #readaroundtheworld #Germany
Richard is reluctantly retiring from academic life in Berlin, to an empty house following the death of his wife, with no plans or projects for the future. His interest is sparked by a news report about refugees, a protest he walked straight past without seeing.
The start is very slow, thoughts, memories, daily life - but I think I‘m going to enjoy this.
Despite being more than halfway through 3 of these, this is still a ridiculously ambitious #OctoberTBR . But the plan this month is to just finish *something*!
#FallisBooked
pickA very raw, honest story about the current refugee crisis Europe is facing. A very well written book which I really enjoyed.
Read as part of the #booknerdchallenge for a book read in translation
pickA slow build, with some deliberate attempts to keep strong emotion at bay. It works for the protagonist and main subject matter. I‘m grateful for having read it though it was at times hard.
pickThanks for recommending and sending this to me @BarbaraBB - it was great! Contemplative, thought provoking, poetic, timely, just a really interesting and beautiful look at the refugee crisis, immigration, and setting aside differences. This book shows that it is possible to learn an old dog new tricks, and I‘m so glad this is my last (print) book of 2018. It might even make it to my favorites list 👌
On this last Sunday evening of 2018, I‘m reading what will probably be my last (print) book of 2018. I‘m not that far in yet, but it seems to be a very comtemplative and thought provoking novel, and l‘m liking it so far! 📖
#currentlyreading
Tough read about a newly retired German Professor making friends with and advocating for African refugees. Not a long book but each story from a refugee on what they escaped from was horrible and then after everything they had been through, to navigate the legal system that‘s against from the start ? Makes me so angry about the way countries treat these human beings who have been through so much already #readathon #anzreadathon
Picked this one up. Looks good!
Thank you so much @BarbaraBB for your generous giveaway 😘😘 I can‘t wait to read both of these! 💕
July wrap up! I finished 8 books this month and read for about 6 hours during the #reversereadathon
I read four books for #backpackeurope visiting France 🇫🇷 Germany 🇩🇪 and Switzerland 🇨🇭 My favorite this month was Go, Went, Gone. #julywrapup #bestofjuly
pickI related so much to Richard‘s desire to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING for the refugees he met. Well-written.
Just finished Go, Went, Gone. Working my way through TBRs that have been sitting on my shelf for at least a year.
Packing up my backpack! Leaving France 🇫🇷 and headed for Germany 🇩🇪 #backpackeurope
pickI loved this novel. It starts with Richard, a retired professor, who's taking a walk across Alexanderplatz and not noticing anything unusual. When he gets home, he later learns that several refugees are protesting there, and he feels guilty for not noticing them. And the novel evolves from that. Focusing on the refugees coming to Europe and the stories they have, and the laws that apply in Europe. Raising important questions for today's Europe.
#junewrapup #bestofjune
I read another 11 books this month (and that with all the football watching as well ⚽️), which is a very good month for me. The tagged book was my only 5-star (a mustread for everyone trying to understand today‘s Europe), the others pictured were my 4-star reads.
It says that when the m.c. and his wife moved they had 80 boxes of books. I don‘t know how many boxes I would need, but I can definetly relate. Maybe I‘m not the only one?
pick‘Nobody loves a refugee‘
This book. It makes me feel so ashamed of myself. All those refugees who make it (if they do) across the Mediterranean and then encounter Italy or Greece; countries who can‘t handle that amount of refugees and make deals with other European countries, like mine or like Germany, where this book is set. The refugees are a problem to be dealt with. Laws and bureaucracy take over. Continued below 👇👇
This novel about an aging man connecting with asylum seekers in Berlin is just brilliant! It engages with history in such a deeply moving and philosophical way.
A few of the books I‘ll be reading soon. I‘ve been dipping in & out of this special gift edition of French love poems. I‘ve found when I read poetry, I myself become more creative especially when it comes to writing.
All of these were included in The Boxwalla book box. If you haven‘t checked them out, do. I‘m always so impressed w/ how carefully curated each & every one of their boxes are.
https://www.theboxwalla.com/subscription-boxes
pickThe message of this story about refugees and retired professor Richard is crystal clear - the absurdity of the bureaucracy and EU legislation which dehumanize individuals and their very personal, tragic stories to the level of a sheet of paper, deny them to be a human beings. Richard recognizes their stories and recognizes them, as an individuals. I have some minor issues with the story, but despite that it is still 👍 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #booked2018
From my current read ...
#human #quotsymarch18 #quotsy
Breaking into my stash from #BookExpoAmerica, and starting with this one because it fits in my bag. LOL
#alaac17 ARC haul 📚 Photo 2 😍
pickGreat approach to humanize the refugee crisis in Germany, specifically in Berlin. I also liked how she used the MC Richard (a retired college professor who lived in East Berlin) to draw parallels between him and the refugees e.g. what to do with your life when you cannot work and how he felt like a stranger in his own land after the reunification. This is my first book by the author, but I doubt it'll be the last.
English title "Go, went, gone".
