Eduard's Homecoming

All of us recall the night-time scenes of exuberant, young East Berliners physically destroying the Berlin Wall with everything from hammers to battering rams. Few of us, however, have had any equally memorable images of Berlin in the years immediately after that destruction--until now, with the arrival of Eduard's Homecoming. Here author Peter Schneider presents a compelling story of a young West Berliner who returns from an 8-year fellowship at Stanford to take a position in a research institution in East Berlin after the fall of the Wall. As Eduard resumes his professional research in Berlin, he must also resolve problems in his marriage and a bewildering array of financial and legal difficulties with an inherited apartment building, now full of squatters. Schneider does an absolutely astonishing job here, developing his story on several levels while creating laser-sharp images and incisive cultural commentary. He illuminates the whole city, from its physical appearance to its social interactions, and he describes buildings, roads, cafes, apartments, night life, theatre, and people from all walks of life so vividly you feel, upon completing the book, that you could easily navigate Berlin without a map. The book is witty, humorous, and filled with a sense of the absurd, as Edward finds himself dealing, often unsuccessfully, with the political, social, and institutional resentments between "wessis" and "ossis." Though they are officially "reunified," they no longer share the same goals, expectations, or even history, obviously paralleling some of the problems in Eduard's marriage. A book which can be read on many levels, from marriage to political science, it is successful on all of them. Best of all, the comments on society and politics are so lucid you will find yourself seeing Berlin--and the U.S.--through new eyes.