Kairos

By: Jenny Erpenbeck

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan

Jenny Erpenbeck’s much anticipated new novel Kairos is a complicated love story set amidst swirling, cataclysmic events as the GDR collapses and an old world evaporates.

Jenny Erpenbeck (the author of Go, Went, Gone and Visitation) is an epic storyteller and arguably the most powerful voice in contemporary German literature. Erpenbeck’s new novel Kairos—an unforgettably compelling masterpiece—tells the story of the romance begun in East Berlin at the end of the 1980s when 19-year-old Katharina meets by chance a married writer in his 50s named Hans. Their passionate yet difficult long-running affair takes place against the background of the declining GDR, through the upheavals wrought by its dissolution in 1989, and then what comes after.

In her unmistakable style and with enormous sweep, Erpenbeck describes the path of two lovers as Katharina grows up and tries to come to terms with a not always ideal romance, even as a whole world with its own ideology disappears.

©2021, 2023 Penguin Verlag, Munchen; Michael Hofmann (P)2023 New Directions Publishing Corp.

Loved "Go, Went, Gone..."

But this one didn't do it. If nothing else, I would have liked to have absorbed more of the German history and art references but the characters and the story are banal and the reading (especially the voicing for Hans) is annoying, therefore I wasn't inspired to pay as much attention as I would have, had I liked the book.

The story goes on and on and on.

I did not like the story and it seemed to be one that was monotonous and repetitive to hear. This was a surprise to me since I usually like Erpenbeck’s writing.

agonizing diatribe that never ended

I was drawn to this as the winner of a book award and the historical background of Eastern Germany between WW2 and the wall coming down. That part was very interesting but overshadowed by the story of the relationship between the two main characters which became literally hours of listening to Hans berating Katarina for her alleged mistreatment of him...I just wanted to scream at for her to tell him to pound sand-but maybe it was the authors intent for us to really feel this relationship on a visceral level. Anyway not a satisfying read...I suffered through it because I was on a 15 hour drive and needed something to distract me.

Just Didn’t Like It

The plot was not for me. I just didn’t think it had depth and it was very hard to follow.

Slow , often circular , little plot or relatable characters

This was difficult to finish and I would not recommend it . The characters were in relatable and made me uncomfortable, which maybe was the artistic intent , but I could not find much motivation to read / listen , other than the famous award the author recently received .