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However, I would love to notice the same powerful historical or political background of times which I felt was somehow quite weak. Be warned, though, all characters are very pessimistic in their outlook on life, and it can feel draining at times. Community Reviews. Also, Eugen Ruge's writing style is great! Welcome back. They are not just some kind of 'sidekick', but occupy a prominent role in the novel, and have to struggle with their own tragedies. Finishing it, I was left with mixed feelings, like, less than excellent better than average, a book that pays justice to what 3 stars are described when you move the cursor on them, "I liked it" without being so excited, perhaps a 3,5 would be fairer. I felt I leaned more about East Germany in a quarter of the space from the relevant chapters in Jenny Erpenbeck's Visitation , also set in the environs of Berlin. Threads collapsed expanded unthreaded. The latest game console, that's important. About Eugen Ruge. Yet it is not quite flawless. There are a number of comical situations, and also humour in the book. Alas, family snapshots are always more interesting for family members than they are for outsiders. Indeed Ruge himself downplays the link having his character surprisingly, indeed unrealistically, unaware of what had happened "all the passengers seemed to be reading the same newspaper with a picture on the front page of an airplane flying into a skyscraper? Open Preview See a Problem? Not if you transcribe it correctly, mate: it's 'druzhba'. The disillusionment of communism is felt through each succeeding generation. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. The book gradually pulls you in almost as though you are an extra family member helplessly watching. It is not a nostalgic book. Good story to read. Ruge writes his chapters set in different times from the s to , but he returns in several chapters to Oct. Alexander's character is perhaps the most interesting-we see him over the course of 30 years, directly, then through the eyes of others, the latest time as he travels through Mexico, trying to retrace his grandparents' journey, using misappropriated money, while he battles terminal illness. Moving back and forth in time, the book examines family and political history through the eyes of family members old and young, centering around the celebration of grandpa's 90th birthday in October , which plays a role in each of t Spanning decades and continents, the story follows four generations of a German family from the s via fall of the Berlin Wall in all the way into the new millenium while shining a light onto life in the GDR from its beginnings until and beyond its end. The book was very favorably reviewed after publication; it was awarded the Deutscher Buchpreis German Book Award in , and sold more than half a million copies on the German-language market. Alexander's defection to the west in the late s is disclosed almost casually, in an early chapter. Still living in the decaying home where Alexander grew up, Kurt was once a prominent historian in the GDR. Their differing views and those of other members of the family, friends and colleagues are explored in varying ways throughout the different episodes. Looked down to see the cat purring'. Ruge starts his historical time line in , with Wilhelm and Charlotte, the family stanch Communists, returning to Soviet Berlin from Mexico. Certain charismatic people easily remember the names of new acquaintances post- introduction. His mother, Irana, a Russian who struggles with alcohol and her philandering academic husband, Kurt, also makes an interesting journey. Having read many non-fiction books on the GDR I fee This novel follows the Umnitzer family, viewing life through the eyes of different family members. However, these details underline the reality of life not only in the GDR, but generally such as ageing parents and the baggage of previous relationships. The masterful narrative makes halt in Mexico, Siberia and East Berlin, climbing the summits and charting the abysses of the 20th century along the way. There are other interesting elements in the book; particularly the role of the women in the family as opposed to the men. Kurt never dared cross or question the Party again until his last book, which detailed his time in the gulag for an offhand anti-Stalin comment in a letter to his brother , but even that was after German reunification had begun. But the most important is anyway always missing in official resumes - a truth that Wilhelm discovers surprisingly once his memory becomes very weak as a result of beginning dementia or is it the medication that his wife is supervising? And while there is a detective element to his excursion to Mexico, Ruge is so busy dropping in other periods that he loses sight of it. I would have liked to have seen more working through of plot lines to understand why bringing flowers to Wilhelm and the vases were an inside joke, why his punchline of "Bring these vegetables to the garbage dump" was laughed at. Though the family lives throug For some reason this novel of the gray and deeply unsatisfying lives of three generations of an East German family was engaging and kept me reading. Luckily, this book is so much more than what I was expecting: It portraits four generations of the same family and their changing relationships to each other and to GDR socialism over time, it touches on many different topics including dementia and terminal cancer, it jumps back and forth between different decades, countries and different points of view, and it does all that on less than pages. I've heard the word "dysfuntional" used to describe the Umnitzers, I'm very pleased that I got around to reading this. In Times of Fading Light Writer

A Novel. This is a very well-put-together novel, an intriguing jigsaw of human experience, relationships and cause and effect that delicately comes together through back-and-forth episodes in the life of the Umnitzers over 50 years. Why did Kurt and Werner go to the Soviet Union? Or was it a cruise missile" - which begs the question of why set the chapter then. The book was very favorably reviewed after publication; it was awarded the Deutscher Buchpreis German Book Award in , and sold more than half a million copies on the German-language market. Berlin Germany. Pages It spans the building and fall of the Wall and reunification, but its roots go further back still, to the immediate aftermath of WW2, when one of the Umnitzers, Kurt, spent a decade in a Soviet camp, eventually returning with a Rusian Family Snapshots The description "family snapshots" comes from the book jacket, and it is a good one. I'm still not sure how I feel about it being left so open. Yes, four generations of the Umnitzer family form the main trunk of the narrative. It is sometimes sad and disturbing but at times also extremely funny. Their stories are told in three alternating, subtly interwoven strands. View all 20 comments. There is a conviction to all of these scenes which suggests that the author has lived through similar experiences himself—though I hope the Ruge family is more sympathetic than the Umnitzers. Wilhem Powileit is the epitome of a family patriarch — stubborn, domineering and uncompromising. Be the first to ask a question about In Times of Fading Light. I don't know how accessible it might be to readers less familiar with circumstances and general ways of life in the GDR - one day, I might try reading the English translation to compare how well things come across while missing much of the typical terminology and patterns of speech that give me an immediate sense of time and place in the German original. Every year a speech of some kind was made. Alexander, who left the GDR shortly before its complete collapse, thinks about his failed career in West Germany, his inability to feel at home anywhere, his failed relationships with the women in his life, his complete failure as a father. Look, Nadezhda as in Mandelshtam, right is a common Russian woman's name and is 'Nadezhda' in English - not 'Nadyeshda', which sounds in English like someone trying to do Biblical. Off work. Indian scholar and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen was awarded the German Book Trade's annual peace prize for his work combating social inequality. Polyphony, but not cacophony. To ask other readers questions about In Times of Fading Light , please sign up. Foreign rights have been sold to 28 countries so far. One recurring precise date, October 1, , is given special importance, both in terms of a central family event and developments in the GDR in general. Their lives mirror and illustrate political history; the private is the political, the political is the private. The ending causes me more problems, though. Apart from proving that even simple arithmetic is beyond me, it also reveals a certain pattern in my reading pleasure. Why did Alexander emigrate to the West? This is my top ten Everything Under. Purchase at:. The title of the book is a reference to the potato harvest in the village in the Ural in early fall in which Kurt lived, but it is also a metaphor for the fading light that the communist ideal shines on the Umnitzer family and that gets weaker with every generation. You can find more information in our data protection declaration. English translation: Anthea Bell. The grandson, meanwhile, feels increasingly constricted in a heimat that was not of his choosing, and heads to the West on the very day that his grandfather, the family patriarch, turns I've heard the word "dysfuntional" used to describe the Umnitzers, and I suppose, objectively, they are, but this is not in any way an overriding experience in Ruge's novel. In Times of Fading Light Reviews

Yet that is exactly what Eugen Ruge did in his out-of-the-gate hit In Times Of Fading Light, which spans almost sixty years of family and national history. This is a book to ponder over, and I have hesitated over whether to give it three or four stars. But full marks to the translator and publisher for the book's title which is both faithful to the original and evocative in English. A still from the film adaptation starring Bruno Ganz. This took me around pages to get into, but when I got used to the names of the various characters and the time shifting between eras, the complex family story became one that I was drawn in by. For me, the conflict and interest comes from the inter-family battles. This is not a feel good book, and the details of their life are potentially mundane and boring. Burgundian Monastery Goose Thuringian dumplings Her beauty His language is almost entirely lost except for the word yes. Complex, and as richly fascinating as the changing patterns of a kaleidoscope. The book illuminates the difficulties of life at that time and what was demanded of the people. Despite that, Ruge has painted Alexander as a deeply complex character, as conflicted and neurotic as any good American. Categories : films German-language films drama films German films German drama films s German film stubs s drama film stubs. I suspect the book is seeded with little references that resonate strongly with people who had actually lived there, but mean comparatively little to outsiders. A few scenes come through strongly nonetheless, such as a faculty meeting at which Kurt has a chance to stand up for a colleague who is being targeted for political incorrectness, but most of it seems like other people's business in a time long ago. The book's first chapter describes how Alexander, just diagnosed with an obviously incurable form of cancer, takes care of his father who suffers from an advanced form of dementia. But the other reason is that I most enjoy a book when I can read it within four, five days at the most. It suits the party to showcase a man like Wilhelm Powileit, with such an exemplary resume, even when some of the events mentioned in it are somehow blurred, and it is fairly obvious that the official CV is more a legend than the truth. Luckily, this book is so much more than what I was expecting: It portraits four generations of the same family and their changing relationships to each other and to GDR socialism over time, it touches on many different topics includi This is another book I had to read for one of my German literature classes. Sort order. Alas, family snapshots are always more interesting for family members than they are for outsiders. There are other interesting elements in the book; particularly the role of the women in the family as opposed to the men. The hardships of exile in Mexico, later a short stay in Russia and return in to East Germany even strengthened his belief in the Stalinist ideas. Trim Size 5. The translation demands less virtuosity than some of Anthea Bell's previous assignments, with Alexander's thought on the opening page, "The sky was blue, what else? Return to Book Page. Published June 11th by Graywolf Press first published This is my top ten Sep 20, Uwe Hook rated it it was amazing. Looked down to see the cat purring'.

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Jul 13, Biogeek rated it did not like it. An inter-generational family saga mirroring the rise and fall of the GDR, Eugen Ruge's autobiographical debut novel tells of an imagined East German utopia and the ultimate failure of communism. And that translation is really not helping. While this may be somewhat frustrating to the reader given the many gaps in the story and character development, the year provides an overall framework thus closing the circle time wise. I wished I'd made a family tree as I went along. Sep 15, Lucinda rated it really liked it Shelves: contemporary-fiction. I guess that's how a great book works. Ruge coaxes empathy for his characters from us, not by bludgeoning us with the horrors they endure, but by depicting his characters with honesty, humor, and an acerbic tenderness as they navigate between family dramas and the state. It is the story of how a family lives on, despite, and perhaps because of, all its infidelities and human frailties, hilarious trivialities and absurd convictions, stupidities, and fraught relationships. Contrary to Wilhelm, his wife Charlotte divorced Umnitzer, hence the different family name of the following generations made quite a career after returning to the GDR, in the newly founded Academy. Alexander's character is perhaps the most interesting-we see him over the course of 30 years, directly, then through the eyes of others, the latest time as he travels through Mexico, trying to retrace his grandparents' journey, using misappropriated money, while he battles terminal illness. The story really sucked me in and I absolutely enjoyed reading it and will probably read it again in the future. The result is both a stunning panorama and a monumental Ger Enthrallingly expansive in its geographical and temporal sweep, this story of a German family tells of years spent in exile, of the revolution, of and beyond. Finishing it, I was left with mixed feelings, like, less than excellent better than average, a book that pays justice to what 3 stars are described when you move the cursor on them, "I liked it" without being so excited, perhaps a 3,5 would be fairer. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Why did Kurt and Werner go to the Soviet Union? A brilliant book about the DDR. Picked this up due to my interest in the DDR, but i ended up with the saga of a highly dysfunctional family, whose members I struggled greatly to relate to. Every year a speech of some kind was made. Many reviewers here caution that the reader must know something about East Germany or socialism or the Fall of the Wall to enjoy this book. View all 20 comments. Very interesting, nicely crafted characters, Irina's one was the most intriguing for me, and the most remarkable thing of More a family saga than a historical novel, "In Times of Fading Light" explores the story of three or four generations of a German family during the last five decades of the 20th century. The language is unpretentious and doesn't try to impress you. Other editions. She doesn't stack up: she's lived in a place for n years and only knows two words. Every old lady was a sweet old babushka. This structure is rather elaborate and may sound confusing, but I had no problem to follow it; one of the advantages of this structure as compared to a linear and chronological account was for me that it was clear from the beginning that Alexander is the main hero of the book - although as a reader you can make also a different choice. Geschonneck contributes to this sombre theme challenging societal ideals, which expose the harshness of a new historical day. But full marks to the translator and publisher for the book's title which is both faithful to the original and evocative in English. Kurt never dared cross or question the Party again until his last book, which detailed his time in the gulag for an offhand anti-Stalin comment in a letter to his brother , but even that was after German reunification had begun. Wolfgang Ruge heavily criticized Stalinism from an early age but remained a Communist and hoped for democratic socialism in the GDR. The title of the book is a reference to the potato harvest in the village in the Ural in early fall in which Kurt lived, but it is also a metaphor for the fading light that the communist ideal shines on the Umnitzer family and that gets weaker with every generation. A devout Party member since the s, Wilhelm enjoyed a moderately successful life within the party. Eugen Ruge's mother is Russian and was two when he came to East Berlin with his parents. A complex and impressive novel that I picked up quite by chance. Take those vegetables to the graveyard," said the curmudgeon when gifted with the medal and flowers. In the reviews it has been sometimes compared to the Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann. Share Title. This article related to a German film of the s is a stub. View all 3 comments. It's hard to reconcile the idea of a crowd of canny communist activists with these witless Thomas Hardy yokels. Lit a candle. I actually felt that the book might have been better just to stick to this strand, allowing the different narrators to fill in the back story. Every man over 40 was a misty- eyed romantic who'd write verse for you. I've never seen exactly that before. Alexander, Kurt's and Irina's son, is in some way the central figure of the novel. Essentially, I see individuals and the same events portrayed from different individuals' points of view. I had thought the bo Ruge writes his chapters set in different times from the s to , but he returns in several chapters to Oct. While he is convinced that the ideals of socialism are worth fighting for, and also that the experiment of its practical implementation is a historical major achievement, he is not blind for certain unpleasant truths.

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