Berlin
A Novel
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times Editor’s Choice
“Cinematic and confessional—electric.” —The New York Times
“Written in funny, punchy vignettes perfect for consumption between U-Bahn stops, and a few hours in the presence of Daphne Ferber pay generous spiritual dividends.” —The Washington Post
“A compelling, raw, and thrillingly strange outsider tale of loneliness and deception. Setton is a wonderful writer who, with this sharp debut, adds to the great canon of contemporary anti-heroines.” —Mona Awad, author of Bunny
A wickedly insightful, darkly funny novel in which a young woman in the grip of an existential malaise moves to a new city for a fresh start but her attempt at reinvention doesn’t quite go to plan
When Daphne arrives in Berlin, the last thing she expects is to run into more drama than she left behind. Of course, she knew she'd need to do the usual: make friends, acquire lovers, grapple with German and a whole new way of life. She even expected the long nights gorging alone on family-sized jars of Nutella, and the pitfalls of online dating in another language. The paranoia, the second-guessing of her every choice, the covert behaviors? Probably come with the territory.
But one night, when Daphne is alone in her apartment, something strange, unnerving and entirely unexpected intervenes, and life in bohemian Kreuzberg suddenly doesn't seem so cool. Just how much trouble is Daphne in, and who – or what – is out to get her?
Channelling the modern female experience with razor-sharp observation and a trenchant wit, Berlin announces Bea Setton as an electrifying new voice for her generation.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Setton debuts with a moving and rollicking tale of self-delusion. Daphne Ferber, 26, a London-raised Oxford graduate from a wealthy French family, settles into a new life as an expat in Berlin. With no need to work, Daphne structures her life around German classes, endless runs through city parks, and late-night eating binges. While her motives for moving to Berlin are initially unclear, her charming narration gradually becomes more obviously unreliable. Daphne, however, only begins to grasp the big picture when a stone is thrown through the window of her sublet, setting off a chain of increasingly wild and threatening events. In addition to crafting a convincing story of a singular young woman, Setton proves herself a masterful and hilarious chronicler of contemporary life. For example, when Daphne begins internet dating, she categorizes the men she meets into seven groups, including "Readers of The Little Prince," "Conspiracy Theorists," and "Men with Sisters." Well-plotted while still capturing the meandering feeling of Daphne's unbound life, and with deliciously handled foreshadowing, Setton's sharp novel of stunted plans is compulsively readable and ultimately devastating. This isn't one to miss.
