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A review by dominiko_
Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall by Anna Funder
4.0
I first read this in high school and decided to re-read it again recently. This is a great book for anyone looking for an introductory insight into the former GDR and specifically its secret police force, the Stasi.
The book is nonfiction but is written almost like prose, which makes it very engaging. Funder's descriptive style adds an extra dimension to the events she discusses, although sometimes her use of free indirect discourse makes her subjects seem more like characters and blurs the lines between the author's own projections and historical objectivity.
Having studied the subject of the GDR and its citizens more intensely since my first reading, I also found that the author does not examine her own (Western) prejudices against the system she describes, although she is wonderfully critical of the opinions and prejudices of the former Stasi agents she interviews.
Overall still an engaging and interesting read.
The book is nonfiction but is written almost like prose, which makes it very engaging. Funder's descriptive style adds an extra dimension to the events she discusses, although sometimes her use of free indirect discourse makes her subjects seem more like characters and blurs the lines between the author's own projections and historical objectivity.
Having studied the subject of the GDR and its citizens more intensely since my first reading, I also found that the author does not examine her own (Western) prejudices against the system she describes, although she is wonderfully critical of the opinions and prejudices of the former Stasi agents she interviews.
Overall still an engaging and interesting read.