The Berlin Crossing

I enjoyed The Berlin Crossing by Kevin Brophy which is set mainly in East Germany, firstly in 1993 and then in 1962. Michael Ritter is a teacher in East Germany and is sacked because of his Communist Party membership not long after Germany's reunification. His mother then dies of cancer and gives Michael a message as her dying words. This message sets Michael to exploring his own past and that of his mother. So the main part of the book is a love story set not long after the Berlin Wall is built. Michael's own story of his feeling of alienation in the "new" Germany provides a different perspective for the reader showing that not everyone in the former East Germany was happy when the Wall came down. 4/5