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Halbschwimmer
Half Swimmer. Noun. A German term for one who has recently learnt to swim but hasn't yet mastered the technique. Growing up in 1980s East Germany, as the daughter of an army officer and a teacher, Tanja seems set up to become a model citizen of the German Democratic Republic. Except she has other ideas. And so, it turns out, does the course of history. Half Swimmer is a collection of stories from one life, following a young girl as she attempts to forge her own identity under the social pressures of both the GDR, and the capitalism of a unified Germany.
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First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 13, 2024
Berlin, Mon Amour
A review of the Peirene Press paperback (September 17, 2024) translated by Jo Heinrich from the original German language Halbschwimmer (2003).
[3.56 average on the 9 stories, rounded up to a 4 star]
German author Katja Oskamp had a breakthrough success with Jo Heinrich's English translation of Marzahn, mon amour: Geschichten einer Fußpflegerin (2019) as Marzahn, mon amour (2022). That book won the 2023 Dublin Literary Award and was shortlisted for the 2022 Warwick Prize for Women in Translation. It charmed with its author's proxy telling stories about life as a podiatrist in the former East Berlin borough of Marzahn.
Half Swimmer is a translation of the author's first book and is instead a coming-of-age story spanning about 15 years. It also uses the "short stories as a novel" structure of the later book. The main character Tanja is 13-years-old during the final years of East Germany at the beginning and is 28-years-old in a post reunification Berlin at the conclusion. It is a harder nut to crack, especially as the introductory story will likely repel readers with its seeming acceptance of childhood abuse. That story sets the stage for the overall arc of a young woman seeking out father & authority figures as lovers/husbands in place of a distant real-life father.
The issue of living under a totalitarian dictatorship in East Germany with its Stasi secret police is barely touched on. Story 4 with its informer tales and fear of authority has an aura of foreboding but there is not much further to that. Story 7 mentions that the Berlin Wall has come down, but only as an aside and almost as an afterthought.
In 2024 this reads as historical fiction, even though it wasn't at the time of its original 2003 writing. As is the case with most English translations there is no helpful introduction or afterword to provide context. So in that absence, I make my own interpretation that the entire arc of previous abuse and the later search for authority figures is a metaphor for the life under an abusive system followed by the tentative (half-swimming) steps into a hope for a future life with an acceptance of a past which you cannot change. Your interpretation may differ.
The following are my individual story ratings and synopses as previously posted in status updates. All ratings still stand from my initial impressions. I don't think of these as spoilers, but some may want to read them with that possible consideration.
1. Rolf and Hopsi *** A gut punch start to the book with a story that begins with a pet hamster Rolf and rabbits Hopsi 1 & 2, and turns into an account of repeated child molestation by the neighbour “Uncle” Rolf. A flashforward to the future at the ending gives the impression that the childhood trauma has been blocked out.
2. Half Swimmer ** This seems a bit short and inconsequential to be the title story for the book, but I suppose the title is meant symbolically to cover the whole arc of the book. The German Halbschwimmer is explained in the epigraph as “A German term for one who has recently learned to swim but hasn’t mastered the technique.” Otherwise a story about being force taught to swim and skin peeling (from sun burn?).
3. Herr O *** Tanja observes how Herr Oschlies, a work colleague of both her teacher mother and military father, is a regular visitor at their home, especially when the father is away.
4. The Letter **** Tanja has written some sort of letter to the Ministry of Education about which everyone is upset including her parents and teachers. A ministry official is scheduled to have a meeting with her at the school.
5. Ruckedigu ***** Tanja tells stories of times with her grandparents. Riding to shopping along with them in their 2-seater Krause Duo motorcycle/car. Time spent with her grandfather at his pigeon coop. My favourite so far from this book. The title seems to be a German onomatopoeic word* to express the sounds a pigeon makes.
Footnote
* GR Friend Berengaria kindly researched the origin of this word and found it in the original German language story of Cinderella as collected by The Brothers Grimm.
A Krause Duo. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
6. What Custom Strictly Divided **** Tanja (who is maybe 18 now) brings her 48-year-old boyfriend Kurt (an actor) along as her New Year’s Eve date to hear Beethoven’s 9th with her parents. Disapproval occurs. The title is a translated line from Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” as used in the symphony's Finale choral movement: "Was die Mode streng geteilt."
7. Seventy-Two Steps *** Tanja has broken up with Kurt and has moved in with Nina, whose front door is 72 steps from a corner curb. Benno and Jeff are housemates/lovers. All have some connection to the theatrical or film world. As an aside it is mentioned that the Wall has come down. Tanja discovers she is pregnant and goes walking while playing the “don’t step on the cracks” game in order to delay telling her parents. After a party all is resolved.
8. Cut *** Tanja attends an opera premiere where her husband Konrad is the conductor. The performance goes well and there is a celebration afterwards. Tanja is constantly thinking about getting her hair cut though, while drinking as much champagne as she can.
9. Back on Speaking Terms ***** It is 10 years since Tanja was with the actor Kurt (so she is 28?) and now he has died. She goes to the funeral where there are many theatre people. Surprisingly her father turns up as well, but they avoid speaking to each other. Tanja thinks of the happy times with Kurt and how he was a replacement figure for a cold-hearted military father.
A review of the Peirene Press paperback (September 17, 2024) translated by Jo Heinrich from the original German language Halbschwimmer (2003).
[3.56 average on the 9 stories, rounded up to a 4 star]
German author Katja Oskamp had a breakthrough success with Jo Heinrich's English translation of Marzahn, mon amour: Geschichten einer Fußpflegerin (2019) as Marzahn, mon amour (2022). That book won the 2023 Dublin Literary Award and was shortlisted for the 2022 Warwick Prize for Women in Translation. It charmed with its author's proxy telling stories about life as a podiatrist in the former East Berlin borough of Marzahn.
Half Swimmer is a translation of the author's first book and is instead a coming-of-age story spanning about 15 years. It also uses the "short stories as a novel" structure of the later book. The main character Tanja is 13-years-old during the final years of East Germany at the beginning and is 28-years-old in a post reunification Berlin at the conclusion. It is a harder nut to crack, especially as the introductory story will likely repel readers with its seeming acceptance of childhood abuse. That story sets the stage for the overall arc of a young woman seeking out father & authority figures as lovers/husbands in place of a distant real-life father.
The issue of living under a totalitarian dictatorship in East Germany with its Stasi secret police is barely touched on. Story 4 with its informer tales and fear of authority has an aura of foreboding but there is not much further to that. Story 7 mentions that the Berlin Wall has come down, but only as an aside and almost as an afterthought.
In 2024 this reads as historical fiction, even though it wasn't at the time of its original 2003 writing. As is the case with most English translations there is no helpful introduction or afterword to provide context. So in that absence, I make my own interpretation that the entire arc of previous abuse and the later search for authority figures is a metaphor for the life under an abusive system followed by the tentative (half-swimming) steps into a hope for a future life with an acceptance of a past which you cannot change. Your interpretation may differ.
The following are my individual story ratings and synopses as previously posted in status updates. All ratings still stand from my initial impressions. I don't think of these as spoilers, but some may want to read them with that possible consideration.
1. Rolf and Hopsi *** A gut punch start to the book with a story that begins with a pet hamster Rolf and rabbits Hopsi 1 & 2, and turns into an account of repeated child molestation by the neighbour “Uncle” Rolf. A flashforward to the future at the ending gives the impression that the childhood trauma has been blocked out.
2. Half Swimmer ** This seems a bit short and inconsequential to be the title story for the book, but I suppose the title is meant symbolically to cover the whole arc of the book. The German Halbschwimmer is explained in the epigraph as “A German term for one who has recently learned to swim but hasn’t mastered the technique.” Otherwise a story about being force taught to swim and skin peeling (from sun burn?).
3. Herr O *** Tanja observes how Herr Oschlies, a work colleague of both her teacher mother and military father, is a regular visitor at their home, especially when the father is away.
4. The Letter **** Tanja has written some sort of letter to the Ministry of Education about which everyone is upset including her parents and teachers. A ministry official is scheduled to have a meeting with her at the school.
5. Ruckedigu ***** Tanja tells stories of times with her grandparents. Riding to shopping along with them in their 2-seater Krause Duo motorcycle/car. Time spent with her grandfather at his pigeon coop. My favourite so far from this book. The title seems to be a German onomatopoeic word* to express the sounds a pigeon makes.
Footnote
* GR Friend Berengaria kindly researched the origin of this word and found it in the original German language story of Cinderella as collected by The Brothers Grimm.
"Weil ihre Füße zu groß waren, schnitten sie sich Zeh und Ferse ab. Doch die Tauben verrieten sie und gurrten: „Rucke di gu, rucke di gu, Blut ist im Schuh."
Translation: Because her feet were too big, she cut off her toes and heel. But the pigeons betrayed her and cooed "Rucke di gu, rucke di gu, there's blood in the shoe".
A Krause Duo. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
6. What Custom Strictly Divided **** Tanja (who is maybe 18 now) brings her 48-year-old boyfriend Kurt (an actor) along as her New Year’s Eve date to hear Beethoven’s 9th with her parents. Disapproval occurs. The title is a translated line from Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” as used in the symphony's Finale choral movement: "Was die Mode streng geteilt."
7. Seventy-Two Steps *** Tanja has broken up with Kurt and has moved in with Nina, whose front door is 72 steps from a corner curb. Benno and Jeff are housemates/lovers. All have some connection to the theatrical or film world. As an aside it is mentioned that the Wall has come down. Tanja discovers she is pregnant and goes walking while playing the “don’t step on the cracks” game in order to delay telling her parents. After a party all is resolved.
8. Cut *** Tanja attends an opera premiere where her husband Konrad is the conductor. The performance goes well and there is a celebration afterwards. Tanja is constantly thinking about getting her hair cut though, while drinking as much champagne as she can.
9. Back on Speaking Terms ***** It is 10 years since Tanja was with the actor Kurt (so she is 28?) and now he has died. She goes to the funeral where there are many theatre people. Surprisingly her father turns up as well, but they avoid speaking to each other. Tanja thinks of the happy times with Kurt and how he was a replacement figure for a cold-hearted military father.
September 28, 2024
He prowls alongside me, without a glance, without a word, without a sound. He doesn't say a thing. He has no intention of saying anything, or he would have done so by now. He's on the right, I'm on the left; an invisible wall hangs between us. What more could there be to say now? You're no help, you're a fucking burden to me, Dad. You could have helped me, but you didn't. You didn't tell me Karl was dying. But you know everything. You knew and you didn't tell me. This is how you punish me for never wanting to see you again. It's easy for a spy like you, obtaining information and deliberately withholding it, as soon as you're deprived of something. But I'm not your go-between, Dad, you have to get it into your head: you're not my commanding officer.
Marzahn, mon amour (2022), translated by Jo Heinrich from Katja Oskamp's 2019 original was winner of the prestiguous 2023 Dublin Literary Award, and shortlised for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation and the Society of Authors TA First Translation Prize.
Half Swimmer is a 2024 translation also by Heinrich of Oskamp's debut novel Halbschwimmer from 2003.
This is the first person story of Tanja, a young woman growing up in East Germany, the tale of her life either side of the fall of the Berlin Wall, told in vignettes over the years. These centre on the relationship with her father, a military intelligence officer, her first love affair with an actor 20 years her senior, and her marriage to a conductor.
I wasn't the biggest fan of Marzahn, mon amour, due to the literary simplicity of the stories, but I could appreciate the way the stories, told to a chiropodist, cohered to give a fascinating picture of a community, and the charm with which they were told. This book has a rather narrower perspective, and lacks the charm - and, much as I'd like to say otherwise - was disappointing. 2.5 stars.
Marzahn, mon amour (2022), translated by Jo Heinrich from Katja Oskamp's 2019 original was winner of the prestiguous 2023 Dublin Literary Award, and shortlised for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation and the Society of Authors TA First Translation Prize.
Half Swimmer is a 2024 translation also by Heinrich of Oskamp's debut novel Halbschwimmer from 2003.
This is the first person story of Tanja, a young woman growing up in East Germany, the tale of her life either side of the fall of the Berlin Wall, told in vignettes over the years. These centre on the relationship with her father, a military intelligence officer, her first love affair with an actor 20 years her senior, and her marriage to a conductor.
I wasn't the biggest fan of Marzahn, mon amour, due to the literary simplicity of the stories, but I could appreciate the way the stories, told to a chiropodist, cohered to give a fascinating picture of a community, and the charm with which they were told. This book has a rather narrower perspective, and lacks the charm - and, much as I'd like to say otherwise - was disappointing. 2.5 stars.
September 15, 2025
This novella is episodic. Small, yet intensely packed moments from a childhood in East Germany to an adult in a unified Germany. Each fragment is barely a story more a stop and go on a journey of forging an identity.
I enjoyed some of the vignettes but felt that the author had struggled with perspective on how to narrate what she wanted to say. It felt a laboured read despite the fascinating details of extraordinary, changing times. Perhaps the difficulties came from the threads of coming to terms with the ideals of being a model citizen, recognising what happened behind the scenes and blending this into a story arc.
I found it awkward
I enjoyed some of the vignettes but felt that the author had struggled with perspective on how to narrate what she wanted to say. It felt a laboured read despite the fascinating details of extraordinary, changing times. Perhaps the difficulties came from the threads of coming to terms with the ideals of being a model citizen, recognising what happened behind the scenes and blending this into a story arc.
I found it awkward
November 9, 2024
This was perfectly fine. Not as good as Marzahn Mon Amour but nowhere near as bad as other reviews have made it out to be. Took me a while to realise that although it’s short stories they are all about the same person. And the first story is somewhat disturbing. But overall good.
August 23, 2025
Välähdyksiä päähenkilö Tanjan kasvamisesta ja elämästä Itä-Saksassa. Kokonaisuus ei pysynyt ihan kasassa, mutta pidin hetkien maalailusta ja kasvun kuvauksesta.
October 18, 2024
I'm not the biggest fan of Peirene as I think the quality of their content leaves a lot to be desired and this book only supports my disinterest. Katja Oskamp has written a largely disconnected and difficult to care about selection of mostly vapid stories about a seemingly autobiographical protagonist and her immature encounters in various settings. The main character's vulnerability was completely missing for me so she mostly just came off as an unsympathetic ass. That, combined with a relatively meaningless selection of narratives made this a miserable read.
April 24, 2019
eines der schrecklichsten Bücher die ich je gelesen habe
October 2, 2024
Vignettes of Tanja's life in and around East / West Berlin
The stories are set in and around Berlin, forming snapshot vignettes of Tanja’s life. She is a teen, developing into a young woman as she meanders through her school years and then embarks on dating. She is destined to be a model citizen but she has other ideas and of course the course of history soon changes.
Her story is set in the context of family life and as she mingles with the various family members, assimilating more information about the individuals who surround her. She learns of her grandfather’s incarceration and fighting during WW2, she sees her mother move through the educational echelons and become head teacher – with perhaps a quick fling on the side (it’s unclear); and Tanja herself may have more than flirted with her elderly neighbour (to what extent is also unclear).
She visits the copper coloured Palace of the Republic (now demolished) and then she is jettisoned into the period after the Fall of the Wall, as she drifts past Peek & Cloppenburg (a department store chain that is well known in the West) and she has access to Monty Python and the antics of John Cleese et al, again indicating that life is now in full swing beyond the strictures of the former GDR/DDR.
This is a dry, confusing read that rambles about – peeking briefly at different periods and elements of Tanja’s life. Given that the author wrote Marzahn, Mon Amour, which is a great, short read, full of vigour and interest, this sadly, in contrast, just feels like a lumbering narrative that doesn’t know where it is going. Tanja is the leitmotif but the stories butterfly around so that we have little real sense of her as a person. She gets swallowed up by the culture of the GDR/DDR and perhaps that is the intention, given political expediency subsumed individuality during that period.
Peirene Press specialises in short reads that entertain readers for a couple of hours, they are always beautifully produced, with French flaps and quality design. Half Swimmer isn’t to my mind one of the stand-out reads in their literary stable.
The stories are set in and around Berlin, forming snapshot vignettes of Tanja’s life. She is a teen, developing into a young woman as she meanders through her school years and then embarks on dating. She is destined to be a model citizen but she has other ideas and of course the course of history soon changes.
Her story is set in the context of family life and as she mingles with the various family members, assimilating more information about the individuals who surround her. She learns of her grandfather’s incarceration and fighting during WW2, she sees her mother move through the educational echelons and become head teacher – with perhaps a quick fling on the side (it’s unclear); and Tanja herself may have more than flirted with her elderly neighbour (to what extent is also unclear).
She visits the copper coloured Palace of the Republic (now demolished) and then she is jettisoned into the period after the Fall of the Wall, as she drifts past Peek & Cloppenburg (a department store chain that is well known in the West) and she has access to Monty Python and the antics of John Cleese et al, again indicating that life is now in full swing beyond the strictures of the former GDR/DDR.
This is a dry, confusing read that rambles about – peeking briefly at different periods and elements of Tanja’s life. Given that the author wrote Marzahn, Mon Amour, which is a great, short read, full of vigour and interest, this sadly, in contrast, just feels like a lumbering narrative that doesn’t know where it is going. Tanja is the leitmotif but the stories butterfly around so that we have little real sense of her as a person. She gets swallowed up by the culture of the GDR/DDR and perhaps that is the intention, given political expediency subsumed individuality during that period.
Peirene Press specialises in short reads that entertain readers for a couple of hours, they are always beautifully produced, with French flaps and quality design. Half Swimmer isn’t to my mind one of the stand-out reads in their literary stable.
November 3, 2024
Growing up in 1980s East Germany, slightly rebellious Tanja tries to forge her own path, but then must find her feet as everything changes post-reunification…
Having enjoyed Oskamp’s Marzahn, Mon Amour, I enthusiastically ordered this one without really reading the blurb, so I hadn’t registered that this was A) her debut and B) not actually about swimming. More fool me.
I was expecting a rich portrait, but regrettably, this was bland, patchy and shallow - it’s not awful but the story is nothing special and nor is the writing. As for the lack of swimming, I was disappointed, but willingly concede that that’s largely my own fault for not reading the blurb properly.
That’s all I really have to say about it - if you want to read a coming-of-age story set in the final days of the GDR, more interesting options are available.
Having enjoyed Oskamp’s Marzahn, Mon Amour, I enthusiastically ordered this one without really reading the blurb, so I hadn’t registered that this was A) her debut and B) not actually about swimming. More fool me.
I was expecting a rich portrait, but regrettably, this was bland, patchy and shallow - it’s not awful but the story is nothing special and nor is the writing. As for the lack of swimming, I was disappointed, but willingly concede that that’s largely my own fault for not reading the blurb properly.
That’s all I really have to say about it - if you want to read a coming-of-age story set in the final days of the GDR, more interesting options are available.
December 18, 2024
Leider (oder zum Glück?) habe ich schon fast wieder vergessen, worum es in dem Buch geht. Zusammenhanglos mit wirren Zeitsprüngen, nicht sympathische Charaktere, oder besser gesagt: sie waren mir egal, langweilige Episoden aus dem Leben der Erzählerin, die vermutlich nur für sie selbst und Leute, die sie kennen, von Interesse sein dürften. Lediglich das Cover ist recht ansehnlich.
Fazit: ich weiß gar nicht, warum ich das Buch überhaupt zu Ende gelesen habe, denn es wurde nicht besser und ich war dann einfach nur froh als es endlich zu Ende war.
Fazit: ich weiß gar nicht, warum ich das Buch überhaupt zu Ende gelesen habe, denn es wurde nicht besser und ich war dann einfach nur froh als es endlich zu Ende war.
October 30, 2024
Nine scenes from a life, like scenes from a film, or self-contained short stories. Chronicles a young girl growing up, moving out from home at eighteen to live with her 48-year old lover, much to her parents' discomfort. She moves on but by the end of the book she hasn't left the past entirely behind.
October 5, 2024
I really wanted to like this, but found the partial and flittering narratives too disjointed. I never really felt connected to any of the characters or the story as a whole. I was expecting (and hoping) for the transition from GDR to play a more prominent role.
September 21, 2024
Writing 2
Story line 2
Characters 3
Impact 2
Entertainment 3
Story line 2
Characters 3
Impact 2
Entertainment 3
Want to read
March 23, 2025I learned of this book via this post: https://booksaremyfavouriteandbest.co...
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