A Guide to Berlin
Published on 7. January 2016
272 pages
978-1-4735-2284-8 (ISBN)
Description
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2016 STELLA PRIZE
We travel to find ourselves; to run away from ourselves.
'A Guide to Berlin' is the name of a short story written by Vladimir Nabokov in 1925, when he was a young man of 26, living in Berlin.
A group of six international travellers, two Italians, two Japanese, an American and an Australian, meet in empty apartments in Berlin to share stories and memories. Each is enthralled in some way by the work of Vladimir Nabokov, and each is finding their way in deep winter in a haunted city. A moment of devastating violence shatters the group, and changes the direction of everyone's story.
Brave and brilliant, A Guide to Berlin traces the strength and fragility of our connections through biographies and secrets.
We travel to find ourselves; to run away from ourselves.
'A Guide to Berlin' is the name of a short story written by Vladimir Nabokov in 1925, when he was a young man of 26, living in Berlin.
A group of six international travellers, two Italians, two Japanese, an American and an Australian, meet in empty apartments in Berlin to share stories and memories. Each is enthralled in some way by the work of Vladimir Nabokov, and each is finding their way in deep winter in a haunted city. A moment of devastating violence shatters the group, and changes the direction of everyone's story.
Brave and brilliant, A Guide to Berlin traces the strength and fragility of our connections through biographies and secrets.
Reviews / Votes
Brimming with rich descriptions... The dark, haunted cityscape of Berlin's winter is beautifully captured... Jones explores her power as a writer, finding fresh and illuminating ways to describe things... A powerful exploration of biography, memory and meaning. * Daily Telegraph * Jones' sensitivity to the vibrancy of things demonstrates a Nabokovian vividness. -- Sam Kitchener * Independent * A thoughtful study of the machinations of memory. -- Lucy Scholes * Observer * An ode to detail... A meditation on memory, travel and grief, on self-fashioning and onliterary friendship. * The Times Literary Supplement * I've always felt that Gail Jones is yet to receive the recognition she deserves. This is her sixthnovel and it is, I believe, a masterpiece. It is a beautifully constructed novel that builds slowly
to its horrific and violent conclusion -- Mark Rubbo * Readings *
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Random House (Digital)
File size
1,21 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-4735-2284-8 (9781473522848)
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Person
Gail Jones teaches literature, cinema and cultural studies at the University of Western Australia. She is the author of Sixty Lights which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Dreams of Speaking and Sorry, both of which were longlisted for the Orange Prize.
