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Never Mind, Comrade: Life Behind the Iron Curtain 1982-1989

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by Claudia Bierschenk Foreword by Peter Lally

A memoir of childhood in the 1980s, set in East Germany, the political backdrop to life looms large: families divided by the Cold War border that split Germany in two; the restrictio­ns on travel (would the whole family get their papers approved to visit cousins in the West?); the constant vigilance to fit in; the niggling worry not to say the wrong thing. While the 1980s may not seem so long ago, even if you feel as though you have not lived through extraordin­ary times, the book shows the value of penning our own memoirs. Claudia Bierschenk’s have the added importance of shedding light on a fearful and important chapter of the European continent’s past, as seen through a child’s eyes. The book is, incidental­ly perhaps, a beautiful production – paper quality, type-setting etc: is this a reaction to a childhood of utilitaria­n living?

• Published by Tangerine Press at £12 (paperback). ISBN: 9781910691­700. HT

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