Shadowlife: Novel

by Martin Grzimek, Breon Mitchell (Translator)

In the carefully controlled, homogenized future society evoked in innovative German writer Martin Grzimek’s new novel,  Shadowlife , the patterned lives of the characters turn out to be anything but orderly and serene. Ostensibly the perfect bureaucrat, Felix Seyner, top interviewer for the Central Institute for Biographics, writes a long letter to his old love, Felicitas, explaining himself and his choice of the CIB over their relationship. Her reply calls into question the truth of almost everything Felix has revealed. An appended report from the “reliable” government security forces puts yet another spin on the events. In a world where national distinctions have been washed away by an undefined ecological cataclysm, the characters struggle to find identity by both exploiting the system and simultaneously subverting it. As a guide to our collective future,  Shadowlife  is intriguing, disquieting, and blackly amusing.

207 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1991

Reviews

[Joseph Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

an interesting book, but i think this is either a new author or not a very experienced one, or the translation wasn't great. there were a couple weird errors or strange phrasings, like mixing up names etc. But i think the way the story was presented, in layers with the man, woman, gov was cool, and the final bit where it's revealed this is a govt text is cool too. I liked it and it wasn't too hard to follow.