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Kairos

Winner of the International Booker Prize
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( 23,127 ratings, 3,812 reviews)
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
Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck delves into the passionate yet tumultuous affair between a young woman and an older man in East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Set against the backdrop of a changing political landscape, the novel explores themes of love, power, and the impact of historical moments on personal lives. It gracefully examines how time and circumstances shape relationships and individual destinies.
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Format: Hardback
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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?

You might enjoy this book if you are intrigued by complex, deeply emotional narratives set against the backdrop of historical change. It weaves a multi-layered tale of love, time, and fate, capturing the intricate dynamics of human relationships in a powerful and evocative manner. This book may appeal to fans of intimate character studies and rich, atmospheric storytelling.

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Kairos

From an internationally acclaimed, multi award-winning author: this is a story of love and betrayal set in Berlin during the years before and after the fall of the Wall.

From an internationally acclaimed, multi award-winning author: this is a story of love and betrayal set in Berlin during the years before and after the fall of the Wall.

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

Berlin. 11 July 1986. They meet by chance on a bus. She is a young student, he is older and married. Theirs is an intense and sudden attraction, fuelled by a shared passion for music and art, and heightened by the secrecy they must maintain.

But when she strays for a single night he cannot forgive her and a dangerous crack forms between them, opening up a space for cruelty, punishment and the exertion of power. And the world around them is changing too: as the GDR begins to crumble, so too do all the old certainties and the old loyalties, ushering in a new era whose great gains also involve profound loss.

From a prize-winning German writer, this is the intimate and devastating story of the path of two lovers through the ruins of a relationship, set against the backdrop of a seismic period in European history.

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?

Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck is lauded for its deep examination of both personal and collective histories. Critics praise its emotionally resonant narrative that intertwines love, betrayal, and the socio-political backdrop of East Germany. Reviewers highlight Erpenbeck's masterful portrayal of human emotions set against historical upheavals, applauding the novel's ambition, complexity, and rich symbolism.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781783786121

Publisher: Granta Books

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 01 June 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Granta Books

Contributors:

  • Translated by Michael Hofmann
  • Translated by Michael Hofmann

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 21.0mm

Width: 135.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 413g

Pages: 304

About the Author

Jenny Erpenbeck is the author of The Old Child & The Book of Words (2008), Visitation (2010) and The End of Days (2014, winner of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize), and Go, Went, Gone (2017). as well as Not a Novel: Collected Writings and Reflections (2020). Her work is translated into over thirty languages.

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