Stasiland

We had an interesting assignment in class today, which I'll post up here in three parts, so you aren't bogged down with possibly the largest blog post in blogger history.

Firstly, we went around the class taking turns reading an excerpt from Stasiland by Anna Funder. The novel is about people who resisted the East German regime, and about other who worked for their police. We only read a couple of chapters in class, but her writing was incredible.

With every new section or incident, Funder broadens her scope. The first pages are just her, hungover and walking. We next meet a German woman who Funder has a conversation with. The text then becomes quite reflective, and then there is history. 

The novel starts with the chapter titled Berlin, Winter 1996, so we immediately know where we are. The first half page or so is seedy, negative and sickly as she battles her way out of a train station. When she is outside, she is gone from the claustrophobic opening, and the story can expand. 

When she has a conversation with a bathroom attendant, the story has moved from an internal world to the external story of the encounter with the woman. Dialogue is introduced for the first time, and Funder begins to develop her own character through another woman. 

Between the opening scene and the encounter with the woman, there has been a major shift, from internal to external, but as a reader you know something has changed, but you don't really notice it. This is the mark of a good writer, the ability to seamlessly move from perspectives without disrupting the audience's reading.

In her third mode of writing, when Funder is on the train, her writing becomes very reflective. So far, we have moved from internal to history/incident to reflective. We begin to learn more about Funder as she reflects on Germany's past, and the reader begins to wonder if the book will be about her, or about Germany. 

One further section on, Funder talks about the more specific history of Leipzig, and we start her own interpretation of history. There is a link to the books name by mention of the Stasi - a connection - as the reader starts to get an idea of what the story is about. 

Further on, Funder visits the Stasi Museum. Every time she sees something in the museum, she relates it to history she knows of. We also get the sense of her travel, and her walking through German history. Funder builds up little descriptions as she goes through the museum. As she meets with the museum curator, who talks with her, an element of humour is introduced (Funder likens a woman to Luther). 

Funder also allows herself little snippets and short bursts of imagination, which is not a usual practice in journalism. It's a valid technique in literary writing,  as long as it is made clear that the author is imagining the following. 

In the final paragraphs of chapter one, Funder begins to give us a sense of what this novel is about, and it seems like this whole chapter has been working towards that final paragraph, and the mention of Miriam (a young woman who's husband died in a Stasi cell). The reader gets a sense of 'this is it', and it's clear that Miriam is a key.

The chapter finishes with the mention of Miriam, and chapter two is called 'Miriam'. It becomes clearer and clearer to the reader where the novel is going, without giving too much away, keeping you interested. 

Stasiland was shortlisted for many prizes, and is now being developed for stage by The National Theatre in London.