BOOK: In Times of Fading Light

In Times of Fading Light: a German novel written by Eugen Ruge and translated by Anthea Bell.  The novel takes place primarily in East Berlin between 1952 and 2001.  Three central characters are Wilhelm and Charlotte, a husband and wife who are believers in Communism, and their grandson, Alexander.  The novel is subtitled “The Story of a Family”.  In a series of short vignettes, we learn about these individuals, their family and friends, and  the intrusion of a belief system that invades everyday life.  While this a story about family, it is neither an American family nor a traditional telling of family life.  The chapter headings are dates and not ordered chronologically.  I’ve commented before as to my dislike of flashbacks, however, in this novel, the author is addressing specific events and retells certain critical occurrences from the perspective of different characters.  The story opens with an introduction to Alexander after the fall of the Berlin Wall.  The second chapter occurs in 1952 as Wilhelm and Charlotte are leaving Mexico, where they were employed, and returning to Germany.  We have six tellings about a family event, Wilhelm’s 90^th birthday party on October 1, 1989.   Each telling is presented by a significant character in the novel.  In between, we learn about Alexander during his first days of compulsory military service, see him introducing his girlfriend to his mother and learn of other family events, all told with a Big Brother background.  There is even, through marriage, a  Russian element.  Eugen Ruge is the son of an East German historian who I believe did time in a Siberian labor camp.  This 307 page novel was awarded the German Book Prize in 2011.  The English translation was published this year.  This is Ruge’s first novel and he scores.  The light in the novel is presented with wit as it skips through time.  One chapter occurs in the year 1961 - Charlotte is debating democratization and Stalinism with her son Kurt while his son and his wife are feeding swans at a park with the catalyst for the discussion being the building of the Berlin Wall.  This book is well worth reading.