by Katja Oskamp
First published 2024
Tanja's father serves in the army and her mother teaches school in 1980s East Germany. The state expects her to follow their path and become an ideal citizen of the German Democratic Republic. She watches the adults around her navigate the rules and rhythms of socialist life while she develops her own thoughts about what she wants to become. History interrupts these plans when the Berlin Wall falls and Germany reunifies. Suddenly Tanja must adapt to capitalism and an entirely different set of social expectations. She moves between these two worlds like someone who has learned to swim but still struggles with the technique. Each story captures a moment from her journey as she tries to create her own identity while external forces push her toward conformity. The collection follows Tanja from childhood through young adulthood as she discovers that neither political system makes it easy to be yourself.
Genres: family-life, historical-fiction, 20th-century, coming-of-age, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: East Germany, Germany
Period: 1980s, Cold War
160 pages · Paperback · Peirene Press