Not a Novel

Reviews

"Erpenbeck has emerged as one of the most original voices in contemporary European letters. Not a Novel is not just autobiographical. There are fascinating reflections on German literature — Grimms’ Fairy Tales, Hans Fallada, Thomas Mann and Walter Kempowski’s war novel All for Nothing — as well as exquisite descriptions of the writing process." — Guy Chazan, Financial Times

"An ideal introduction to the life and work of an exceptional artist." — Kirkus

"This collection of essays, memoirs and critical pieces forms an intellectual biography of Europe’s most history-obsessed writer. Beginning with her childhood in East Berlin in the early ‘60s and ‘70s, the book moves in concentric circles, from the intimate and understatedly moving to the moment History collides with her life. A powerful voice singing the past into the present’s melody." — John Freeman, Lithub

"To read Erpenbeck’s musings on the majesty of folk tales or on life in the shadow of the Stasi is to begin to understand the forces that propelled her to become the deft, fearless author she is today." — New Statesman

"Fearless, playful, incisive. Erpenbeck is unique" — Rachel Seiffert

"These essays, lectures and musings from the ever-elegant German writer Jenny Erpenbeck cover life, art and society. Jumbled together are thoughts on language, history and freedom, a moving piece – in the shape of an inventory – on her mother’s death, and finally, on Germany’s treatment of refugees. Clear-eyed and perceptive, Erpenbeck’s writing packs an emotive punch." — Tatler

"As this collection makes clear, hers is a life (and writing-life) well worth examining." — The Complete Review

"Erpenbeck’s anger is palpable and this collection reveals both her creative process and the injustices that drive her to write." — Lucy Popescu, The Guardian

"In this attentive prose, in her desire to map stories that are suppressed and rhythms of the heart that keep being forgotten, Erpenbeck is one of the most vital writers working today." — Natasha Walter, The Guardian

"Wonderful, elegant, and exhilarating—ferocious as well as virtuosic." — Deborah Eisenberg, The New York Review of Books

"Erpenbeck is a virtuoso whose eye for detail depends entirely on a refusal to write what’s easy or straightforward. It’s a perspective conditioned by losing one identity and watching an entire country disappear in the name of freedom." — Lauren LeBlanc, The Observer

"The texts collected here come from many eras and many moments and seem to fall around the reader like bits of glass....There is something terrifying but liberating about seeing a person construct herself and her history in a way that feels so opposite to everything we are told." — Hasan Altaf, The Paris Review

"The impact is of a master at work—Erpenbeck ought to be considered for the Nobel." — John Domini, The Washington Post

"Not A Novel is a collection of the sort of pieces – some profound, others incidental – that naturally arise as part of a professional writing career. Many are concerned with growing up in the GDR and the experience of having the society that formed your worldview disappear.... At a time when former East German states vote in increasing numbers for the right-wing party Alternativ für Deutschland, Erpenbeck’s voice is all the more important for its ability to draw attention to a parallel world, one that sought to call a new future into being, rather than harking back to a darker past." — Peter Frederick Matthews, Times Literary Supplement

"One of the pleasures of reading Not a Novel is just that—it’s not a novel. Each piece stands on its own and is dense and lucid, demanding pause and reflection....Her words stay with you." — World Literature Today

"Erpenbeck’s writing is a lure that leads us—off-center as into a vortex—to the most haunted and haunting territory." — Anne Michaels

"The most profound, intelligent, humane, and important writer of our times. Forget the nombrilistes writing about themselves who have taken up so much of the conversational space. Jenny Erpenbeck is where it is all happening. She watches, notes, records, and interprets the world, not just herself in it. This is real literature: alive, vital, necessary, witty, beautiful, transformative." — Neel Mukherjee

"Her restrained, unvarnished prose is overwhelming." — Nicole Krauss