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