Reviews with content warning for Torture - Stasiland

Stasiland was equal parts informative and intimate; historical and relatable; factual and human. She blended the experience of former Stasi officials, informers, citizens of the GDR, etc. with historical context beautifully. I really enjoyed the personal reflections she gave, as well as the variety in people’s stories she shared. One of my favorite elements of this book is the concept of how the Wall affected everyday people’s lives, and how they might still be affected today. Although this time in history was anything but lighthearted, Funder managed to invoke a positive sense of optimism and hope for a better future, while not forgetting or ignoring the impact of the past. The only reason I did not mark 5 stars was the abruptness of the end—I felt a longing for a more tidy reflection as a whole, especially after she was so reflective throughout the entire book.

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questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

I've read this book several times but felt like picking it up again because I was reading another book about the Stasi which I wasn't really getting on with. The Stasi are something of a special interest for me, as I wrote my uni dissertation about the file archives and I'm still just as interested now.
This is quite a strange read at times and I know it's not for everyone but I really enjoy Funder's mix of memoir and journalism. It's also interesting because it was published 20 years ago so the history and stories it discusses are even further removed from us now but are still so powerful and fascinating. I listened to the audiobook for the first time, which isn't narrated by Anna Funder herself but I still really liked it.

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sophie42's review

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challenging informative inspiring sad fast-paced

4.25

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samchase112's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

Stasiland is a horrifying and detailed account of what it was like to live under Stasi power in East Germany. Anna Funder's clear, reflective writing only adds to the horror of what she is uncovering. It reads like fiction, which makes the fact that these things were real, that it was done to real people, even more difficult to read. What would you have done? How would you have reacted when the Stasi threatened to imprison you for life if you didn't convert your child to an ideology and regime that was oppressing you? Funder's novel is explanatory and reflective, and makes readers question their own perspectives and how they would react under oppression. I highly recommend it.

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