The German Room

ISBN: 1999859332

Author: Maliandi, Carla

Condition: Used

Product DescriptionCould we claim that The German Room invents a new genre? It would be an exaggeration, of course, but we can certainly say that this novel represents what we could call a non-coming of age tale. A female protagonist - a young woman- travels from Argentina to Germany trapped by emotional conflicts. When she arrives, she is constantly exposed to all kinds of adventures and incidents, some funny, others tragic. She never fully understands her situation. Instead of learning from her circumstances and moving on, she gropes around, perplexed by the reality around her, hesitating as to what to do next. It is this hesitation that turns into thrilling suspense, a book that we cant put down. We want to know what happens next, and after that. Maliandi takes us by the hand until the end of a novel that becomes, quite simply, remarkable and unforgettable.Review"Maliandis prose is viciously perceptive, and manages to capture a heady mix of excitement and nostalgia. (5 stars)" -The Skinny"The cosmopolitanism of this novel simultaneously embodies the universal displacement and lack of purpose an entire generation is experiencing." -Glasgow Review of Books"Both moving and entertaining." -The Stinging Fly"Maliandi, an accomplished playwright, fashions characters with an admirable economy, and yet each of her fascinating figures is given sufficient space to develop." -AsymptoteAbout the Author**Carla Maliandi **was born in Venezuela in 1976 but grew up in Argentina where she now lives. She is an award-winning playwright, theatre director, university lecturer and writer. She has written and directed five theatre plays, which were all staged in Buenos Aires as well as in different international theatre festivals. She has also co-written several other plays. She is part of the writers collective _Rioplatensas _as part of which she directs a literary journal and a TV programme. Her plays _Espejo en el desierto _(Mirror in the desert) and _Regen _(Rain) appeared in an anthology published by the National Theatre Institute of Argentina, and her short story _Indio _(Indian) was included in a short story collection entitled _Zona de cuentos _(Short Story Zone). _The German Room _is her dbut novel, chosen by several critics as one of the best books to come out of Argentina in 2017. It is also her first book to be translated into English.Frances Riddlelives in Buenos Aires,where she works as a translator, writer, and editor. She holdsan MA in translation studies from the University of Buenos Aires and a BA in Spanish literature. Her book-length publications includeA Simple Storyby Leila Guerriero (New Directions, 2017);Bodies of SummerbyMartn Felipe Castagnet (Dalkey Archive Press, 2017); andThe Life and Deaths of Ethel Jurado(Hispabooks, 2017). This is her fourth title for Charco Press afterSlum Virginby Gabriela Cabezn Cmara (2017),The German Roomby Carla Maliandi (2018) andTheatre of Warby Andrea Jeftanovic (2020).Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.I once knew the names of all the constellations. My father taught me them, while warning that the German sky above us was totally foreign to him. I was obsessed with the sky, the stars and aeroplanes. I knew that a plane had brought us to Heidelberg and that a plane would take us back to where we belonged. For me, planes had faces and personalities. And I prayed that the one that would take us back to Buenos Aires wasnt one that would fall into the middle of the ocean and kill us all. The night before our trip, our big trip back to Argentina, our house on Keplerstrasse was filled with philosophers. We ate in the garden because it was an unusually warm and clear night. There were some Latin Americans: a Chilean who played the guitar, a serious Mexican philosopher with the requisite beard, and Mario, a young Argentinian student who was staying at our house. The Latin Americans made an effort to speak German and the Germans