Niemandsland

Matthias Friedrich Muecke
Niemandsland
Memories of a Childhood in a divided land

Berlin during the Cold War. Matthias Friedrich Muecke casts a close look, from the perspective of those who were there then, at life as a teenager amidst the travails of everyday life in East Berlin in this captivating story. One of the protagonists is a bit cheeky and unflappable, while the other is sensitive and shy.

They make an oath to remain inseparable friends forever and go through all sorts of things together, especially as reactions to the despotic, authoritarian system. Eventually, they become rebellious teenagers hankering for adventure. Their non–conformity eventually becomes dangerous and leads to a catastrophe.

Matthias Friedrich Muecke’s book contains fragments of memories from this period. They’re often bizarre, sometimes playful, and accompanied by melancholy black and white drawings which capture the atmosphere, in great detail, of a fairytale-like childhood during a bygone era.

Look inside