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The Blindness of the Heart by Julia Franck, translated by Anthea Bell

Language: German
Country: Germany
Publisher: Grove
Pages: 424

Why This Book Should Win: Anthea Bell is one of the best translators working today; this novel won the German Book Prize in 2007; it made the for the UK edition.

Since this novel has already won a number of prizes, here糖心传媒檚 a series of quotes and comments from other award givers:

糖心传媒淔ramed by the story of a child abandoned in the chaos of postwar Germany, this novel shows epoch-making events through the eyes and emotions of the ordinary people 糖心传媒� above all the women 糖心传媒� who always bear their brunt. After the tramuas of the 1914-1918 war, half-Jewish Helene escapes to Weimar Berlin, an emancipated nurse breathing the air of freedom. As the darkness of the Hitler era closes in, marriage to a pro-Nazi engineer link dictatorship at home and in the state, in a novel finely attuned to every exercise of power- and every act of resistance.糖心传媒� 糖心传媒� Independent Foreign Fiction Prize

糖心传媒淎gainst the background of two world wars, Julia Franck tells the disturbing story of a woman who leaves her son, without finding herself. The book is persuasive in its vivid use of language, narrative power and psychological intensity. A novel for long conversation.糖心传媒�, is how the seven judges for the German Book Prize announced their choice.

(And just for the oddity of this quote, here糖心传媒檚 another bit from the German Book Prize people: 糖心传媒淭here was a big majority for the judges糖心传媒� choice of Julia Franck糖心传媒檚 novel Die Mittagsfrau as the winner for the 2007 novel of the year. This decision was preceded by energetic and intense discussion of all titles; there was particularly lively argument as to what a contemporary German novel is able to achieve over and above literary fashions and off-the-peg goods糖心传媒�, says Felicitas von Lovenberg, speaking on behalf of the judges. 糖心传媒淥ff-the-peg goods糖心传媒� is my new favorite phrase. Along with 糖心传媒渦nintended fuckery.糖心传媒�)

Keeping on with the glowing praise for this novel, here糖心传媒檚 a bit from in the Independent:

It is easy to see why The Blind Side of the Heart won the German Book Prize. Julia Franck糖心传媒檚 novel, based on her own father糖心传媒檚 life, is one of the most haunting works I have ever read about 20th-century Germany. Its distinction is Franck糖心传媒檚 ability to explore intergenerational trauma in a totally fresh way 糖心传媒� as if the 39-year-old author had lived through two world wars and returned as a witness.

Helene is the daughter of a Jewish mother and an Aryan father. Brought up in Saxony she, and her sister Martha, suffer the consequences of their father糖心传媒檚 war injuries and their mother糖心传媒檚 mental illness. Both escape poverty and enjoy a freer life with their decadent Jewish aunt in Weimar Berlin.

What is so clever about Franck糖心传媒檚 characters and plotting is that she shows the women maturing without any sense of political awareness. Although they see Lotte Lenya in Brecht and Weill糖心传媒檚 The Threepenny Opera, the larger political struggle, between Communism and Nazism, hardly touches them. The rise of Hitler is so understated that its gathering momentum gives the book a compulsive charge.

Granted, there is a surfeit of WWII-related books out there, but to convince you of the worthiness of this title, here糖心传媒檚 an (or technically, an excerpt of an excerpt):

They headed to the station at a run. But on the staircase down to the station, a uniformed nurse with a protruding belly came towards them, obviously a colleague of his mother糖心传媒檚. She told them the special trains weren糖心传媒檛 coming into Stettin, they糖心传媒檇 have to go out to Scheune, walk to the next stop; that was where the trains were going from.

They walked along between the tracks. The nurse got out of breath quickly. She jostled into place next to his mother and Peter walked behind them, trying to hear what they were talking about. The nurse said she hadn糖心传媒檛 got a moment糖心传媒檚 sleep, she kept thinking of the bodies they糖心传媒檇 found in the hospital yard at night. Peter糖心传媒檚 mother didn糖心传媒檛 reply. She didn糖心传媒檛 mention the soldiers糖心传媒� visit. Her colleague sobbed, she admired Peter糖心传媒檚 mother for her dedication, even though everybody knew, well, that something wasn糖心传媒檛 right about her origin. The nurse laid a hand on her round belly and puffed, but she didn糖心传媒檛 want to talk about that now. Who had that courage after all? She could never have taken one of the stakes herself and pulled it out of one of the women糖心传媒檚 bodies, staked like animals, their guts all torn to shreds. She stood still for a moment and propped her heavy body on Peter糖心传媒檚 mother糖心传媒檚 shoulder, taking deep breaths, the woman who survived had kept calling for her daughter, but she糖心传媒檇 bled to death beside her long before. Peter糖心传媒檚 mother stopped still and told the nurse gruffly to stop talking. For heaven糖心传媒檚 sake, stop it.

The narrow platform at Scheune was crowded with people waiting. They sat on the ground in groups and eyed the new arrivals with mistrust.

Nurse Alice! The call came from a group of people sitting on the ground; two women waved their arms wildly. Peter糖心传媒檚 mother followed the call of the woman, who seemed to have recognized her. She squatted down next to them on the ground. Peter sat down next to his mother; the pregnant woman followed them but stayed on her feet, indecisive. She shuffled from one foot to the other. The women whispered amongst themselves, and two women and a man disappeared with the pregnant nurse. When a woman had to pee she was accompanied by several people if possible. People said the Russkis were hiding in the bushes and jumping out on women.

(FYI: The above translation is by Katy Derbyshire, not Anthea Bell. Katy糖心传媒檚 a great translator as well, runs 糖心传媒淟ove German Books糖心传媒� and is a big champion of Julia Franck.)