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The Others
Secrets, lies and love as the DDR collapses.
Three young people from vastly different backgrounds - Armando from Mozambique, Lolita from India and East German national Theo - are drawn together in a small Baltic city in 1989, just as the DDR begins to collapse around them.
While a quiet revolution sweeps through Eastern Europe, they find themselves in a poignant love triangle, as their lives intertwine and collide with each other in a messy, beautiful ways.
Three young people from vastly different backgrounds - Armando from Mozambique, Lolita from India and East German national Theo - are drawn together in a small Baltic city in 1989, just as the DDR begins to collapse around them.
While a quiet revolution sweeps through Eastern Europe, they find themselves in a poignant love triangle, as their lives intertwine and collide with each other in a messy, beautiful ways.
340 pages, Paperback
Published June 19, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 5, 2025
It's 1989, and the lives of three young people intersect in a small Baltic city in the GDR/DDR. Lolita and Armando are both immigrants in East Germany: Lolita is an Indian medical student, drawn to the GDR to avoid the fees and bribes necessary to study in Bombay [Mumbai], and Armando, from Mozambique, works in a printing factory as part of a deal between the East German government and the Mozambican state. (As Katja Hoyer's Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949-1990 taught me, guest workers came to the GDR not only from Mozambique, but from Cuba, Algeria, Poland, Hungary, Vietnam and Angola, among others; the intention was that they should learn a skill and return home with seed capital that would help develop their country's economy. In the case of the Mozambicans, this promise was broken; they were deported after the Wall fell, and the Mozambican government kept the money that they were owed.) Theo, meanwhile, is East German, barred from higher education because of his refusal to be recruited by the Stasi, so works in a garage by day and writes fiction by night.
I was impressed by the quiet power of Sheena Kalayil's The Others. It's old-fashioned in a good way, trusting the reader to stay with the narrative as we slowly get to know the three protagonists rather than relying on anything high-concept or flashy. By the end, I truly cared about all of the characters, even Theo, who is the most morally problematic. I also appreciated how Kalayil showed that the fall of the Berlin Wall was not unequivocally welcomed by everybody living in the GDR. For Theo, this is a liberation, but for Lolita and, especially, Armando, it makes the future much more uncertain, as many migrant workers want to stay in the state rather than to leave it. 4.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher for review.
I was impressed by the quiet power of Sheena Kalayil's The Others. It's old-fashioned in a good way, trusting the reader to stay with the narrative as we slowly get to know the three protagonists rather than relying on anything high-concept or flashy. By the end, I truly cared about all of the characters, even Theo, who is the most morally problematic. I also appreciated how Kalayil showed that the fall of the Berlin Wall was not unequivocally welcomed by everybody living in the GDR. For Theo, this is a liberation, but for Lolita and, especially, Armando, it makes the future much more uncertain, as many migrant workers want to stay in the state rather than to leave it. 4.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher for review.
July 15, 2025
Expertly realised characters, a gripping, well structured plot and vivid descriptions of life under an oppressive regime are cleverly wound together in The Others to depict a tumultuous time for the DDR as well as for each of the characters. Superbly well crafted book. Loved it!
June 6, 2025
A love triangle set against the backdrop of the DDR/GDR (the Deutsche Demokratische Republik or German Democratic Republic, they are interchangeable, commonly referred to as East Germany), it’s 1989 and the wall is about to fall. But, wait, we are getting ahead of ourselves. None of our protagonists know this, so let’s get to the story.
Lolita is a medical student from India she is being taught at a hospital in a town near the Baltic coastline. A fellow student, Max, suggests a party in LK, on the outskirts of the town, and a bunch of them go. She meets Armando there. He lives in the compound of a printing factory where he works. He tells her about the Sonderbar a place he often goes. They are getting to know each other over time as they meet at the Sonderbar and then other places like the trip to the beach with Armando and his daughter Clara. Armando is a contract worker from Mozambique. Clara lives with her mother and Armando sees her on a weekly basis, he wants to be in her life as much as possible.
As time goes on they become more attracted to each other and want to be together. What with Lolita’s work, Armando’s work, his desire to stay in contact with Clara and the fact that they don’t often spend much time together alone. The trip to the beach happened after several months it was the first time they were to be together all day. Clara was with them. But it was on this trip that they saw a person in the sea, Armando went in to help but the young man he brought back was already dead. The police had taken over. The incident had shaken them bringing them too close to the reality of life in the DDR and with it the need to keep secrets.
Theo meets Lolita at the hospital he is immediately smitten with her. Theo is working as a mechanic, lives with his Grandfather and writes in his spare time. He pursues Lolita and since her relationship with Armando has for various reasons cooled somewhat his persistence seems to be working and they go on a few dates.
It is Theo’s story that brings home to the reader how the lives of East German citizens are controlled. He is from East Berlin where his parents still live. The reason for moving to live with his Grandfather, Rainer, all too clearly demonstrates how life is controlled by the authorities. His grandfather Rainer’s story is also interesting and gives further insight into what it was like in the DDR. Theo’s experience has left him disillusioned with the ideology of his homeland.
Lolita, Armando and Theo’s lives become tangled up. Lolita takes Theo to meet friends. They go to the Sonderbar together to an open mic evening when Theo reads some of his work and he meets Armando. The men recognise each other as rivals and yet there’s a sense that under different circumstances there might have been a friendship but would they have met otherwise, other than because of Lolita probably not.
As time goes on Armando becomes caught up with what he fears is a Stasi investigation. He is worried about losing access to Clara, of the possibility of being sent back to his war torn homeland of Mozambique.
Things begin to shift, borders are being opened, the wall is about to fall and the government collapse. Lolita and Theo go to East Berlin. Armando risks everything and follows. Everything changes.
What a stunning story Sheena Kalayil has written you cannot but become captivated by it and caught up in the lives of these three young people. The setting is fascinating and well drawn. As ever I go down a rabbit hole of my own as I learnt in this book, for example, about the contract workers. The main characters are lovable yet often annoying at the same time and other characters like Rainer, Joachim, the Micke’s and Petra. Petra, Clara’s mother, a journalist who suffers violent consequences of the badly handled aftermath of the collapse and desire for change.
How will it turn out? Will there be a happy ever after? We get a conclusion, yes, we also have the final section which I was delighted to find gives a glimpse into the future. However, this is a multi layered story of love, of life under a suppressive regime, of different cultures meeting, of fear, joy and the consequence of secrets. The story that Kalayil has written seeps into your heart and steals a little of it away.
Lolita is a medical student from India she is being taught at a hospital in a town near the Baltic coastline. A fellow student, Max, suggests a party in LK, on the outskirts of the town, and a bunch of them go. She meets Armando there. He lives in the compound of a printing factory where he works. He tells her about the Sonderbar a place he often goes. They are getting to know each other over time as they meet at the Sonderbar and then other places like the trip to the beach with Armando and his daughter Clara. Armando is a contract worker from Mozambique. Clara lives with her mother and Armando sees her on a weekly basis, he wants to be in her life as much as possible.
As time goes on they become more attracted to each other and want to be together. What with Lolita’s work, Armando’s work, his desire to stay in contact with Clara and the fact that they don’t often spend much time together alone. The trip to the beach happened after several months it was the first time they were to be together all day. Clara was with them. But it was on this trip that they saw a person in the sea, Armando went in to help but the young man he brought back was already dead. The police had taken over. The incident had shaken them bringing them too close to the reality of life in the DDR and with it the need to keep secrets.
Theo meets Lolita at the hospital he is immediately smitten with her. Theo is working as a mechanic, lives with his Grandfather and writes in his spare time. He pursues Lolita and since her relationship with Armando has for various reasons cooled somewhat his persistence seems to be working and they go on a few dates.
It is Theo’s story that brings home to the reader how the lives of East German citizens are controlled. He is from East Berlin where his parents still live. The reason for moving to live with his Grandfather, Rainer, all too clearly demonstrates how life is controlled by the authorities. His grandfather Rainer’s story is also interesting and gives further insight into what it was like in the DDR. Theo’s experience has left him disillusioned with the ideology of his homeland.
Lolita, Armando and Theo’s lives become tangled up. Lolita takes Theo to meet friends. They go to the Sonderbar together to an open mic evening when Theo reads some of his work and he meets Armando. The men recognise each other as rivals and yet there’s a sense that under different circumstances there might have been a friendship but would they have met otherwise, other than because of Lolita probably not.
As time goes on Armando becomes caught up with what he fears is a Stasi investigation. He is worried about losing access to Clara, of the possibility of being sent back to his war torn homeland of Mozambique.
Things begin to shift, borders are being opened, the wall is about to fall and the government collapse. Lolita and Theo go to East Berlin. Armando risks everything and follows. Everything changes.
What a stunning story Sheena Kalayil has written you cannot but become captivated by it and caught up in the lives of these three young people. The setting is fascinating and well drawn. As ever I go down a rabbit hole of my own as I learnt in this book, for example, about the contract workers. The main characters are lovable yet often annoying at the same time and other characters like Rainer, Joachim, the Micke’s and Petra. Petra, Clara’s mother, a journalist who suffers violent consequences of the badly handled aftermath of the collapse and desire for change.
How will it turn out? Will there be a happy ever after? We get a conclusion, yes, we also have the final section which I was delighted to find gives a glimpse into the future. However, this is a multi layered story of love, of life under a suppressive regime, of different cultures meeting, of fear, joy and the consequence of secrets. The story that Kalayil has written seeps into your heart and steals a little of it away.
September 14, 2025
This was a beautifully written story, with politics cleverly woven in. Following the stories of three completely different characters was incredible. This was written with such detail, and every word felt carefully thought through. The character development and the storyline between the three and how they are woven together effortlessly was amazing. This was my first historical fiction book in a LONG time, and it has opened my eyes to a new genre completely. Since reading, I've read a handful more historical fiction!
September 11, 2025
Absolutely loved the writing style!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews