Berlin
The dazzling, darkly funny debut that surprises at every turn
-
- USD 12.99
-
- USD 12.99
Descripción editorial
'One for Sally Rooney fans' Sunday Telegraph
'Compelling, raw and thrillingly strange' MONA AWAD, author of Bunny
'Cinematic and confessional . . . electric' The New York Times
-----
*FOR FANS OF CLEOPATRA AND FRANKENSTEIN, MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION and EXCITING TIMES*
When Daphne Ferber arrives in Berlin for a fresh start in a thrilling new city, 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 behaviours? Probably come with the territory.
But one night, something strange, dangerous 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 witty flair, Berlin announces Bea Setton as an electrifying literary voice for her generation.
'Scintillating . . . wonderfully funny' Financial Times
'Terrific . . . [an] unsettling and compelling read' Observer
'I was completely absorbed' FRANCESCA REECE, author of Voyeur
'Cinematically vivid, and refreshingly honest' LISA HALLIDAY, author of Asymmetry
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.
