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Monsters Like Us

Series: The German List
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Monsters Like Us by Ulrike Almut Sandig is a haunting exploration of childhood and the darker facets of human nature. Set in post-reunification Germany, it follows the intertwined lives of two children, Susanne and Ralph, whose friendship is tested by the pervasive shadows of environmental and personal trauma. This profound narrative delves into themes of innocence, memory, and the often blurred lines between good and evil.
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Format: Hardback
$3999
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you enjoy immersive narratives that blend the boundaries between reality and imagination. Delving into themes of childhood, trauma, and the haunting echoes of the past, it offers a unique exploration of human emotions through a richly poetic lens. Fans of prose that weaves together the ordinary with the otherworldly will find this story particularly captivating.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A novel of two young friends growing up on divergent paths in the last days of Communist East Germany.

What is it like to be young and broken in a country that is on the brink of collapse? This is what acclaimed poet and sound artist Ulrike Almut Sandig shows us in her debut novel, through the story of old friends Ruth and Viktor in the last days of Communist East Germany.

The two central characters are inseparable since kindergarten, but they are forced to go their different ways to escape their difficult childhood: Ruth into music and the life of a professional musician; Viktor into violence and a neo-Nazi gang.

Monsters Like Us is a story of families, a story of abuse, a story about the search for redemption and the ways it takes shape over generations. More than anything, it is about the stories we tell ourselves about who we are, and who we want to be.

Bold, brutal, and lyrical, this is a coming-of-age novel that charts the hidden violence of the world we live in today.

Series: The German List

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  • Monsters Like Us
    A novel of two young friends growing up on divergent paths in the last days of Communist East Germany. What is it like to be young and broken in a country that is on the brink of collapse? This is what acclaimed poet and sound artist Ulrike Almut Sandig shows us in her debut novel, through the story of old...
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The book by Ulrike Almut Sandig is praised for its musicality and compelling narrative, inviting readers to discover new layers of meaning with each reading. Although it is tinged with melancholy, the character Ruth provides a glimmer of hope as she finds strength and independence. It is recognised as a striking novel that explores the abuse of power.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780857429834

Publisher: Seagull Books London Ltd

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 13 September 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Seagull Books London Ltd

Contributors:

  • Translated by Karen Leeder

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 172

About the Author

Born in former East Germany in 1979, Ulrike Almut Sandig has written two books of short stories, and four volumes of poetry as well as a novel. In 2021 she was invited to give the prestigious Thomas-Kling Poetics Lectures. Karen Leeder is a writer, critic, and prize-winning translator of contemporary German literature including work by Durs GrΓΌnbein, Volker Braun, Michael KrΓΌger, Evelyn Schlag, and Raoul Schrott.

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