“The border is not at the border.” Traveling on One Leg follows Irene, a young woman who flees the oppressive regime of Ceaușescu’s Romania for West Germany. Disoriented […]
German literature
Nadirs
“The village is a mouth that chews and swallows.” Nadirs (originally Niederungen) is a collection of short stories and vignettes by Herta Müller, depicting life in a rural, […]
German literature
The Hunger Angel
“Everything I have, I carry with me.” The Hunger Angel follows Leo Auberg, a young man from Romania, who is deported to a Soviet labor camp after World […]
German literature
The Appointment
“They’re always watching. Even when you think you’re alone, they’re there.” The Appointment follows a young Romanian woman, a factory worker, as she rides a tram to an […]
Russian literature
Life and Fate
“In the end, the only thing that remains is kindness.” Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman is an epic novel set during World War II, primarily focusing on […]
Russian literature
Cancer Ward
“A man dies from a tumor, so how can a country survive with growths like labor camps and exiles?” Cancer Ward follows the lives of patients in a […]
Russian literature
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
“The belly is an ungrateful wretch, it never remembers past favors, it always wants more tomorrow.” Morning The novel opens with Ivan Denisovich Shukhov waking up in a […]
English literature
1984
“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” Part One Winston Smith, a frail 39-year-old man, lives in Airstrip One (formerly Britain), a province of the totalitarian […]