Literary Fiction
April u Berlinu/April in Berlin
by Daša Drndić
In her book April in Berlin (April u Berlinu), Daša Drndić uncompromisingly towards herself, towards her characters and readers, towards history, researches the destinies of emigrants and immigrants that have marked the twentieth century. Through personal stories, her own as well as those of her interlocutors, of noted and well-known people but also of so-called ordinary, “insignificant”, individuals, Drndić creates a big story. April in Berlin explores and dissects the history of Middle Europe, that imaginary yet existing area that has, more than by its geographical facts, been defined by its inhabitants and their destinies, their migrations determined both by economy and politics. The people whose lives have been moulded by politics and history, who have for generations been moving throughout Europe, but also throughout the world, thus turn Middle Europe into much more than a geographic point of reference they transform it into a human map. Precisely that human map which marked the twentieth century and is making an imprint on the twenty-first, that code inscribed into human fates, is what Daša Drndić reveals and offers through her book, whether it be by narrating her own story, that of the fate of her family, or the stories of real and fictional characters she directly communicates with. As if through a kaleidoscope, the author enters the intimate world of every reader, making him start a personal quest of his own and his family’s past.
