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Petra
Inspired by Petra Kelly, the original Green Party leader and political activist who fought for the planet in 1980s Germany, Shaena Lambert brings us a captivating new novel about a woman who changed history and transformed environmental politics--and who, like many history-changing women, has been largely erased. Award-winning novelist Madeleine Thien calls
Petra
a masterpiece--a fierce, humane and powerful novel for our times.
January, 1980. At the height of the Cold War, Petra Kelly inspires hundreds of thousands to take to the streets to protest the placement of nuclear missiles on West German soil--including a NATO general named Emil Gerhardt, who shocks the establishment by converting to the cause. Petra and her general not only vault to fame as the stars of the Green Party, but they also fall in love. Then Manfred Schwartz, an ex-lover, urges Petra to draw back the curtain on Emil's war record, and they enter a world both complicated and threatening.
Told by Manfred Schwartz, from his place in a present world even more beset by existential threats, Petra is an exploration of love, jealousy, and the power of social change. A woman capable of founding a new and world-changing politics and taking on two superpowers, Petra still must grapple with her own complex nature and a singular and fatal love.
January, 1980. At the height of the Cold War, Petra Kelly inspires hundreds of thousands to take to the streets to protest the placement of nuclear missiles on West German soil--including a NATO general named Emil Gerhardt, who shocks the establishment by converting to the cause. Petra and her general not only vault to fame as the stars of the Green Party, but they also fall in love. Then Manfred Schwartz, an ex-lover, urges Petra to draw back the curtain on Emil's war record, and they enter a world both complicated and threatening.
Told by Manfred Schwartz, from his place in a present world even more beset by existential threats, Petra is an exploration of love, jealousy, and the power of social change. A woman capable of founding a new and world-changing politics and taking on two superpowers, Petra still must grapple with her own complex nature and a singular and fatal love.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2020
16 people are currently reading
297 people want to read
About the author
Shaena Lambert
7 books26 followersI started writing fiction in 1992, when my son was a toddler, a leap into the unknown, and frightening, as at that time I was a single mother. But with the help of an explorations grant from the Canada Council, I was able to keep writing. I have lived in Vancouver, Toronto, New York and the Okanagan, but for the last decade I have been back on the West Coast, in Vancouver, where many of my stories are set, living with my husband, Bob Penner, and my two (now grown ) children. I've written four books, Petra, Oh, My Darling , Radiance, and The Falling Woman, stories. My work has been nominated for the Danuta Gleed, Rogers Writers Trust, Ethel Wilson and Evergreen awards, Frank O'Connor Award for the Short Story and been published in Canada, the UK, Germany and Australia. I also teach writing on a freelance basis -- please visit my website, for thoughts on writiing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
September 4, 2020
I can't wait for all my friends to read this novel so that we can talk about:
activism
WW2 guilt
relationships
ripple effect and
what makes good writing
(among other things.)
This book is not just for political junkies (although I think anyone who is interested in politics and/or activism will definitely enjoy this book)--I am not she. I stay informed because it's my civic duty to be a thoughtful voter, but it's a chore, okay, right up there with flossing my teeth. However 'Petra' is a beautifully written, broad and encompassing story with fantastic entertainment value. Jump right in! I highly recommend it.
activism
WW2 guilt
relationships
ripple effect and
what makes good writing
(among other things.)
This book is not just for political junkies (although I think anyone who is interested in politics and/or activism will definitely enjoy this book)--I am not she. I stay informed because it's my civic duty to be a thoughtful voter, but it's a chore, okay, right up there with flossing my teeth. However 'Petra' is a beautifully written, broad and encompassing story with fantastic entertainment value. Jump right in! I highly recommend it.
July 1, 2020
In Petra, Shaena Lambert has delivered a stunning account of an extraordinary woman influencing a seminal moment in time. With conditions ripe for a fundamental shift in geopolitics just prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall, we witness Petra Kelly’s arc from anti-nuclear activist to gaining a seat in the German Parliament as a co-founder of the Green Party – and then in the years that follow, the heartbreaking isolation and exclusion of Petra from a movement she gave so much to create. This book is a beautifully crafted story of fascinating and flawed individuals who left an indelible imprint on the world.
I imagine it is hugely challenging to do justice to a character such as Petra, whose life has impacted so many and was for many years lived under such an intense spotlight. Lambert paints Petra in all her complexity: a passionate activist, a fascinating and occasionally narcissistic woman capable of both tremendous empathy for others as well as self-centered dismissal of the needs of those closest to her. Petra is always intriguing, momentarily alienating, but always interesting to explore.
What additionally made this book such a compelling read for me were the equally rich depictions of the other individuals - General Emil Gerhardt, his wife Helena, our narrator Manfred Schwartz, along with many others. In Lambert’s hands, there are few minor characters in Petra: each one has depth and a vibrancy that resonate with the reader, long after the final chapter has been closed.
And I am enchanted by Lambert’s ability to capture beautifully poignant sentiments in single sentences. Here is one I recall vividly:
“And there will be cities of frosted ice, watched over by blazing stars.”
Of course, Petra Kelly was herself a star whose light was extinguished far too soon, but Shaena Lambert’s book brings Ms Kelly and her extraordinary achievements to life again, and does so beautifully. This is a brilliant book and one you really do not want to miss.
I imagine it is hugely challenging to do justice to a character such as Petra, whose life has impacted so many and was for many years lived under such an intense spotlight. Lambert paints Petra in all her complexity: a passionate activist, a fascinating and occasionally narcissistic woman capable of both tremendous empathy for others as well as self-centered dismissal of the needs of those closest to her. Petra is always intriguing, momentarily alienating, but always interesting to explore.
What additionally made this book such a compelling read for me were the equally rich depictions of the other individuals - General Emil Gerhardt, his wife Helena, our narrator Manfred Schwartz, along with many others. In Lambert’s hands, there are few minor characters in Petra: each one has depth and a vibrancy that resonate with the reader, long after the final chapter has been closed.
And I am enchanted by Lambert’s ability to capture beautifully poignant sentiments in single sentences. Here is one I recall vividly:
“And there will be cities of frosted ice, watched over by blazing stars.”
Of course, Petra Kelly was herself a star whose light was extinguished far too soon, but Shaena Lambert’s book brings Ms Kelly and her extraordinary achievements to life again, and does so beautifully. This is a brilliant book and one you really do not want to miss.
August 2, 2020
PETRA is a richly rewarding novel – an absorbing story layered with themes and meaning. The novel is based on Petra Kelly, German peace activist and influential founding member of the Greens. Petra Kelly, I now realize, enlarged the world of possibility for me, a woman ten years her junior. Thank you, Petra Kelly. Like too many other historically important women, Petra had faded from our collective consciousness. It is good to have her back. Thank you, Shaena Lambert.
PETRA is a compelling story of love, murder, and the complexities of being Green. It is this last bit that truly captivated me. Why is it so difficult to get our world on track for salvation of our environment and a compassionate society? Petra understands how everything is connected. She knows that focusing single-mindedly on an immediate political problem (e.g. deployment of nuclear missiles) begets neglect of important interconnected issues (human rights violations in the GDR)—many issues must be addressed in concert. A valid stance, yet one that is ripe for accusations of political naiveté – especially by those who stand to gain when certain issues are neglected. This tension, raw and keenly felt, was used to manipulate the youthful German Greens of the 1980s; the same issues—both the tension and the potential for manipulation—remain a struggle for Greens today.
Petra herself is intelligent, nuanced, and inspiring. As a passionate young woman, she struggles when her deeply felt values—for example, authenticity and kindness—collide. When her commitments to feminism, human rights, and non-violence are challenged, Petra responds in ways that are uniquely hers, leaving the reader with much to ponder.
PETRA is a story of love (for self, for other, and for the world); a murder mystery; and a treatise on Green politics. PETRA is a masterwork.
PETRA is a compelling story of love, murder, and the complexities of being Green. It is this last bit that truly captivated me. Why is it so difficult to get our world on track for salvation of our environment and a compassionate society? Petra understands how everything is connected. She knows that focusing single-mindedly on an immediate political problem (e.g. deployment of nuclear missiles) begets neglect of important interconnected issues (human rights violations in the GDR)—many issues must be addressed in concert. A valid stance, yet one that is ripe for accusations of political naiveté – especially by those who stand to gain when certain issues are neglected. This tension, raw and keenly felt, was used to manipulate the youthful German Greens of the 1980s; the same issues—both the tension and the potential for manipulation—remain a struggle for Greens today.
Petra herself is intelligent, nuanced, and inspiring. As a passionate young woman, she struggles when her deeply felt values—for example, authenticity and kindness—collide. When her commitments to feminism, human rights, and non-violence are challenged, Petra responds in ways that are uniquely hers, leaving the reader with much to ponder.
PETRA is a story of love (for self, for other, and for the world); a murder mystery; and a treatise on Green politics. PETRA is a masterwork.
October 12, 2021
4.5 and strong recommend
This fictionalized portrait of a real and forgotten environmental leader does very well what books like The Things They Carried do: it blurs the lines between fact and fiction in order to investigate big ideas like the guilt of war, friendship, sexual jealousy, political ideals, and empathy.
The writing is really really good, too.
This fictionalized portrait of a real and forgotten environmental leader does very well what books like The Things They Carried do: it blurs the lines between fact and fiction in order to investigate big ideas like the guilt of war, friendship, sexual jealousy, political ideals, and empathy.
The writing is really really good, too.
October 24, 2020
Shaena Lambert’s brilliant novel Petra centres on Petra Kelly -- a forgotten woman from a forgotten time.
The novel is set in Germany in the decade 1980s and early 1990s against the backdrop of the cold war and the massive anti-nuclear war movement of that period. Though this decade ended with the end of the cold war and the dramatic de-escalation of the risk of nuclear war, it was a decade which began with the the risk of nuclear war between the two superpowers perhaps closer than at any point in history. The end of the cold war and the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the decade have contributed to the decade being forgotten.
While the book is named for the real life Petra, the central character is Emil, a German general whose character is based on the real life figure Gert Bastian who abandoned the military over the issue of the stationing of mid-range nuclear weapons in Europe, was elected to the German parliament as a Green and became Kelly’s real life lover.
The novel has something of the character of a Shakespearean tragedy. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that -- as Lambert mentioned in a reading – the novel began as a play. The novel also has this in common with Shakespeare; all the characters are completely are completely believable. The novel has a narrator – Manfred – but the depth and believability of the characters is achieved partly through the highly unusual choice of telling the story in the first person from the perspective of all the central characters at different times.
The one character who is perhaps not complete is Petra herself. This is not, I think, because Lambert succumbs to the temptation to make Petra perfect but because she is an icon of “Hope” as Lambert has written elsewhere.
The central problem of the novel, which is played out through Emil, is the capacity and limits of the human capacity to change. Lambert is masterful in exploring these limits and at the same time illuminating a forgotten time in modern history.
Madeline Thien’s cover quote for Petra sets a high expectation for readers by describing the novel as a “masterpiece” but it is an expectation which will not be disappointed.
The novel is set in Germany in the decade 1980s and early 1990s against the backdrop of the cold war and the massive anti-nuclear war movement of that period. Though this decade ended with the end of the cold war and the dramatic de-escalation of the risk of nuclear war, it was a decade which began with the the risk of nuclear war between the two superpowers perhaps closer than at any point in history. The end of the cold war and the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the decade have contributed to the decade being forgotten.
While the book is named for the real life Petra, the central character is Emil, a German general whose character is based on the real life figure Gert Bastian who abandoned the military over the issue of the stationing of mid-range nuclear weapons in Europe, was elected to the German parliament as a Green and became Kelly’s real life lover.
The novel has something of the character of a Shakespearean tragedy. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that -- as Lambert mentioned in a reading – the novel began as a play. The novel also has this in common with Shakespeare; all the characters are completely are completely believable. The novel has a narrator – Manfred – but the depth and believability of the characters is achieved partly through the highly unusual choice of telling the story in the first person from the perspective of all the central characters at different times.
The one character who is perhaps not complete is Petra herself. This is not, I think, because Lambert succumbs to the temptation to make Petra perfect but because she is an icon of “Hope” as Lambert has written elsewhere.
The central problem of the novel, which is played out through Emil, is the capacity and limits of the human capacity to change. Lambert is masterful in exploring these limits and at the same time illuminating a forgotten time in modern history.
Madeline Thien’s cover quote for Petra sets a high expectation for readers by describing the novel as a “masterpiece” but it is an expectation which will not be disappointed.
October 9, 2020
PETRA, by Shaena Lambert, is a wonderful re-creation of Petra Kelly's life in fiction based on fact. Some Canadian readers may have heard Elizabeth May quote Petra Kelly on the need to do the impossible, during her farewell speech as leader of the Green Party of Canada. You may have wondered who she was, or have been glad to hear her mentioned. Lambert met Petra Kelly when Kelly was in Vancouver in the 1980's, and became fascinated with her life and her spirit of activism.
Kelly was born in Germany but spent her adolescence in the U.S. after her single mother married a U.S. army officer; she then returned to Europe to study and work. She believed that we are all interconnected with other human beings and with the earth, and people can find ways to work together to save the planet and ourselves. She was one of the founders of Germany's Green Party, and in the early 1980's, during a crusade to stop NATO nuclear missiles from being placed in West Germany, she enlisted the aid of a NATO general -- who retired from the army and became not only her co-worker but also her lover for several years. Lambert narrates the story twenty years after these events, in the voice of Petra's male colleague and former lover as he looks back on these times. We see several points of view in the story, as the writing makes history come alive. As Lambert said in an interview during Toronto's (virtual) Word on the Street this year, fiction can get underneath and inside a story to bring out the human, emotional elements. Her writing is vivid and direct, making this a very readable book as well as a serious one. We gain insight not only into Petra Kelly herself and her times, but also into broader issues of women in politics, the tensions between political and personal life, the role of memory and guilt, and the question of what each of us can do to, as Margaret Mead said, "be the change we want to see in the world." (Note: i have written this review to avoid any spoilers).
Kelly was born in Germany but spent her adolescence in the U.S. after her single mother married a U.S. army officer; she then returned to Europe to study and work. She believed that we are all interconnected with other human beings and with the earth, and people can find ways to work together to save the planet and ourselves. She was one of the founders of Germany's Green Party, and in the early 1980's, during a crusade to stop NATO nuclear missiles from being placed in West Germany, she enlisted the aid of a NATO general -- who retired from the army and became not only her co-worker but also her lover for several years. Lambert narrates the story twenty years after these events, in the voice of Petra's male colleague and former lover as he looks back on these times. We see several points of view in the story, as the writing makes history come alive. As Lambert said in an interview during Toronto's (virtual) Word on the Street this year, fiction can get underneath and inside a story to bring out the human, emotional elements. Her writing is vivid and direct, making this a very readable book as well as a serious one. We gain insight not only into Petra Kelly herself and her times, but also into broader issues of women in politics, the tensions between political and personal life, the role of memory and guilt, and the question of what each of us can do to, as Margaret Mead said, "be the change we want to see in the world." (Note: i have written this review to avoid any spoilers).
September 21, 2020
Petra Kelly was a peace activist, a free woman, a spirit of great power. Her murder at the hands of her lover shook Germany in 1992. Shaena Lambert's novel dives right into Petra's life and examines the complexity of her relationships...a marvellous novel!
November 11, 2020
This book is well written, it's just not my favourite style or type of story. The semi-true tale of an activist in Berlin in the 1980s who becomes a politician and leads a movement. But mostly the story focuses on the mundane details of life, the behind-the-scenes debates with the party, the grungy old farmhouse they live in, and the in-fighting and hurt feelings. Mostly it's a story about love, and nobody being 100% happy about the choices the choices they've made.
September 16, 2020
I enjoyed reading "Petra.” It is absolutely brilliant. The characters seem so real. Petra just jumped off the page while I was reading it. I enjoyed the other characters too, all flawed and human. Katrina actually reminded me of a German woman I met in Berlin in 1980, the way she looked, her temperament but also the kind of discussions we had. Shaena Lambert accurately evokes Germany in the 1980’s and the complex questions young people were grappling with at the time—the weight of the past, the fear of a possible destruction of the world by nuclear missiles, the wall and the separation of East and West Germany, the possibility of social change. The book draws attention to a not well known piece of history, the start of the Green movement in Germany and the large role women played in it, Petra as well as others. Against the backdrop of this political and social climate, a dark and complex relationship plays out between Petra and Emil, an ex-NATO general. Shaena Lambert dissects this with sharp observation, and without judgments, raising questions about the power of love and compassion versus the weight of the past and human failure. A masterful, layered book. Riveting and timely. I can't praise it enough. A book to read more than once.
September 22, 2020
Shaena Lambert's titular character Petra Kelly is undeservedly little known as the original leader of the Green Party in Germany, but that will hopefully change with this captivating novel. Shaena has cleverly woven fact and fiction to bring us the fascinating story of Petra Kelly, her unlikely lover, and the women and men who changed the course of environmental politics and activism in the 1980s. Shaena's meticulous research plays out quietly on every page, from intimate personal and political details to geographical pinpoints. It feels as though the writer lived this story and the reader has the privilege of re-living it through her eyes. I was spellbound throughout!
October 9, 2020
Poignant and powerful. Essential reading for the era.
January 28, 2021
If I am going to read a book based on someone’s life I would prefer it to be a Biography and Non fiction.
September 22, 2022
I liked this...but I can't quite pin down what is preventing me from loving it. There are odd moments where it feels like it slips into poetry (to which I'm allergic) and the occasional switches in time and p.o.v. feel awkward. In the end, this is a book of moments for me where the characters and situations become compelling and intense...but I wish they were connected together in a more seamless manner. A novel where I love many distinct parts, but only admire the combined whole.
March 6, 2021
Cool story, bro.
This book gave me some insight into the history of activism. While it may seem radical to some, it’s been around for a while, and can sometimes get you elected into german parliament.
This book gave me some insight into the history of activism. While it may seem radical to some, it’s been around for a while, and can sometimes get you elected into german parliament.
January 17, 2021
2.5 stars, I don’t normally read historical fiction, but I was gifted the book for Christmas. Definitely got better in the second half, but not my favourite overall
December 4, 2022
I knew nothing of this true story of Petra Kelly, a leader in the peace and early environmental movements in West Germany. The novel takes place mostly in the 1980s. It’s well told and if, like me, you don’t already know the story there’s some mystery and tension. It’s also very sad, both as a story of what happened in the internal workings of those movements, as well as what happened to Petra, specifically.
June 1, 2023
The tone and especially the main character narration drew me in and along. Sometimes I felt like the story wasn't focused on the most interesting elements and I would have liked more actual issues and strategies. But mostly I enjoyed the personalities and interpersonal dynamics.
September 28, 2020
Wonderful, lyrical, immersive.
September 14, 2020
This riveting book now joins the privileged few that I have devoured in just one day, sharing that space with Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha and only a few others.
I was captivated throughout - by Lambert’s writing, characters, and the remarkable true story that she brings to life so vividly and compassionately. Her choice, to make the protagonist’s former lover the narrator, works brilliantly to create a vivid though objective portrayal of the complicated character at the center of this story, Petra Kelly.
I was also deeply moved by recurring themes of interconnectedness and redemption - such important things to remember right now. Additionally, the concept of Innere Führung, which is returned to many times in the narrative, has really stuck with me. This principle was developed after World War II, by the German Army, to ensure that individual soldiers let themselves be guided by their own consciences, as I understand it. And, it feels incredibly prescient to be reminded to listen to our inner voices during these socially tumultuous times.
Finally, Lambert has a profound way of embedding readers in the sensory, psychological reality of each character, which is personally my primary motivation for reading - to build true empathy. And "Petra" does this beautifully, without sentimentality, deification of the heroine, or pity.
I was captivated throughout - by Lambert’s writing, characters, and the remarkable true story that she brings to life so vividly and compassionately. Her choice, to make the protagonist’s former lover the narrator, works brilliantly to create a vivid though objective portrayal of the complicated character at the center of this story, Petra Kelly.
I was also deeply moved by recurring themes of interconnectedness and redemption - such important things to remember right now. Additionally, the concept of Innere Führung, which is returned to many times in the narrative, has really stuck with me. This principle was developed after World War II, by the German Army, to ensure that individual soldiers let themselves be guided by their own consciences, as I understand it. And, it feels incredibly prescient to be reminded to listen to our inner voices during these socially tumultuous times.
Finally, Lambert has a profound way of embedding readers in the sensory, psychological reality of each character, which is personally my primary motivation for reading - to build true empathy. And "Petra" does this beautifully, without sentimentality, deification of the heroine, or pity.
Read
February 9, 2021I'm a third of the way through this but just done; I do not have the mental energy to read about Emil Gerhardt's fictional thoughts on Petra Kelly's clitoris.
February 9, 2021
Loved this book, I think it is going to be one of my favourites for this year. About the rise of the Green Party in Germany, and one doesn’t have to be a political junkie to appreciate. The setting was interesting, 1980s Germany, in the midst of the wall, arms race, rise of women, with the backdrop of the nazi past and reconciling with war time experiences. Enjoyed all the characters and the writing
November 16, 2023
Petra Kelly was one of the founders of the Green Party in Germany. She was famous for her work as an anti-war and social justice activist, as well as for the fatal relationship with the former Bundeswehr general Gert Bastian.
Lambert met Kelly in 1986 in Vancouver at a big walk for peace. She was fascinated by Kelly's enormous agenda and the power to touch the audience with her words which motivated her to take on writing this book.
I must say I was surprised that this novel was written by a Canadian writer who didn't participate in the events depicted in the book. This is because it is so incredibly well written, with a great insight into the minds of the characters with a great feeling for the spirit of the 1980s in Germany. The characters, especially Manfred who narrates the story, are very believable. So much, in fact, that it was easy for me to forget this is a work of fiction.
I enjoyed this book immensely. It reminded me of my university years and days wasted discussing Marcuse and reading Havel and Celan with my '68er professors. The book also shows how the nature of activism changed a lot since the 1980s, often not for the better, to be honest.
Of course, following the theme, the book opens some serious questions about dealing with history, activism, political power, idealism and cognitive dissonance.
But, surprisingly, this book has some great insights about loyalty, family and marriage.
I enjoyed the narrator's life story even more than Petra's.
5 stars.
Lambert met Kelly in 1986 in Vancouver at a big walk for peace. She was fascinated by Kelly's enormous agenda and the power to touch the audience with her words which motivated her to take on writing this book.
I must say I was surprised that this novel was written by a Canadian writer who didn't participate in the events depicted in the book. This is because it is so incredibly well written, with a great insight into the minds of the characters with a great feeling for the spirit of the 1980s in Germany. The characters, especially Manfred who narrates the story, are very believable. So much, in fact, that it was easy for me to forget this is a work of fiction.
I enjoyed this book immensely. It reminded me of my university years and days wasted discussing Marcuse and reading Havel and Celan with my '68er professors. The book also shows how the nature of activism changed a lot since the 1980s, often not for the better, to be honest.
Of course, following the theme, the book opens some serious questions about dealing with history, activism, political power, idealism and cognitive dissonance.
But, surprisingly, this book has some great insights about loyalty, family and marriage.
I enjoyed the narrator's life story even more than Petra's.
5 stars.
November 26, 2020
Inspired by a brilliant and vibrant woman that changed the course of post war politics and founding of the first ever Green party to rise to recognition worldwide- Petra Kelly.
Another history changing women forgotten.
As much as everything about this woman draws me in, the writing style tore my interest away. My opinion on this novel is in the minority so please take it with a grain of salt.
The chronology order did not flow well for me. I thought to have the story told by Manfred Schwartz lost its value, it should have been told by Emil at least if not Petra. Unfortunately, I felt like I got the proper impact of her place in history from an article Shaena Lambert wrote about her book on The Star than from the novel.
Overall, I am happy my opinion is in the minority. I am grateful to come across this novel and to learn about this inspirational and empowering women. She was the ambassador of intersectionality- seeing connections between ecology, feminism, love for the planet, poverty, freedom and much more. Petra would have been by our side during climate change protest, black lives matter movement, pride marches and much more. She teaches us the power of unity, peace and optimism.
Thanks you Penguin Random House Canada through Netgalley for approving my request to read Petra by Shaena Lambert.
Another history changing women forgotten.
As much as everything about this woman draws me in, the writing style tore my interest away. My opinion on this novel is in the minority so please take it with a grain of salt.
The chronology order did not flow well for me. I thought to have the story told by Manfred Schwartz lost its value, it should have been told by Emil at least if not Petra. Unfortunately, I felt like I got the proper impact of her place in history from an article Shaena Lambert wrote about her book on The Star than from the novel.
Overall, I am happy my opinion is in the minority. I am grateful to come across this novel and to learn about this inspirational and empowering women. She was the ambassador of intersectionality- seeing connections between ecology, feminism, love for the planet, poverty, freedom and much more. Petra would have been by our side during climate change protest, black lives matter movement, pride marches and much more. She teaches us the power of unity, peace and optimism.
Thanks you Penguin Random House Canada through Netgalley for approving my request to read Petra by Shaena Lambert.
January 30, 2021
I am interested in politics and history and love both the entertainment and education I receive from historical fiction. This story sheds light on an important piece of history that I knew little about. I very much enjoyed it and look forward to reading more books from this excellent author.
July 14, 2021
A fictional account of political activist and German Green Party leader Petra Kelly. Kelly takes the Green Party from an umbrella organization of disparate activists to a group with political force in the 1980s.
The story unfolds using historical detail, but the author’s use of characters based on composites of real people is problematic, especially when one of them is central character Emil Gerhadt, a older, married NATO general who is a close representation of Gert Bastian, the married NATO general who fell in love with Petra Kelly (and may have killed her).
Fictionalized works featuring real, historical people in real situations can be fraught, and I spent too much time wondering how close the character was to the real person, what events were real and what was fictionalized.
While the book provides texture and a sense of place of a particular time, I question the book’s success if its intent is to show how and why a woman rose in politics and then faded from public view, particularly when the end of the book felt rushed and the description of Kelly's final years filled with such ambiguity.
The story unfolds using historical detail, but the author’s use of characters based on composites of real people is problematic, especially when one of them is central character Emil Gerhadt, a older, married NATO general who is a close representation of Gert Bastian, the married NATO general who fell in love with Petra Kelly (and may have killed her).
Fictionalized works featuring real, historical people in real situations can be fraught, and I spent too much time wondering how close the character was to the real person, what events were real and what was fictionalized.
While the book provides texture and a sense of place of a particular time, I question the book’s success if its intent is to show how and why a woman rose in politics and then faded from public view, particularly when the end of the book felt rushed and the description of Kelly's final years filled with such ambiguity.
January 10, 2021
I thoroughly loved this novelized biography of Petra Kelly, an influential member of the German Green party, elected to the German parliament in the 1980’s. Petra was a very interesting person with passionately held beliefs, and a dramatic life, which makes a great story. I also liked the way the story is told: narrated by a fellow Green colleague, who is likely an amalgam of characteristics of those she worked and protested with. The narrator has had an intimate relationship with Petra, is close to her, in fact is still in love with her, and feels free to challenge her on the decisions she makes, so is in the perfect position to give us a clear view of her life - a very clever device. Highly recommended.
July 27, 2021
As someone who knew Petra Kelly personally in the 80s, I was eager to read this novel. I had difficulties getting gripped in the beginning but gradually got more hooked. I do not think this is a book about green politics as such. For me the most interesting character in the book, is not Petra, nor her older lover, but the anti-hero Manfred who loves and continue to loves the radical politics of Petra but also recognises her egocentrism and her desperate search for a father figure.
For me this is a good novel about the boomer generation which was honestly looking for radical renewal of our politics and societies but got stuck in its own faults, weaknesses and individualism.
For me this is a good novel about the boomer generation which was honestly looking for radical renewal of our politics and societies but got stuck in its own faults, weaknesses and individualism.
October 20, 2020
This is an amazing story, beautifully unpicked and rewoven from the fabric of an incredible life. The story of Petra Kelly will stay with you, not only because Petra, Manfred and the general are all such believably conflicted characters, but because through their story, Lambert reveals the complexity of all human relationships. Petra is a courageous book. It challenges us to accept that even the best and most genuine intentions can become distorted if we cannot face the darkness in our own nature as well as the light.
September 25, 2021
Beautifully written novel about a German activist who came to prominence in Europe in the 1980s and the impact she had on the lives of two men who loved her. It's rich with history: the anti-missile movement, the feelings of shame of the post-Nazi generation, the repression represented by the Berlin Wall. I enjoyed contemplating Petra's theory that all injustice is connected, that you can't focus on just one problem in the world. The one problem I have with this novel is the author's decision to use Petra Kelly's real name yet give fictional names to the other characters in the book. Her fictional lover Emil Gerhardt was in real life the general Gert Bastion who murdered her then took his own life, an evict depicted in the novel. This is historical fact and the relationship Lambert describes between the general and the activist seems very close to what is written about them in articles and other books. So why not use his real name? I think I would've preferred that Petra be given a different name, as well, so I could've read this strictly as fiction. Using her real name encourages the reader to form an opinion of the real person. Yet is it the right one? There's an incident behind the Berlin Wall in which she callously leaves one of her associates (the narrator, a former lover) to suffer at the hands of the East German police. Did she in fact do that? If not, it's unfair to give us this impression. (Much like the Giller-winning Us Conductors in which the author has Leon Theramin murder someone which he did not in fact do.) It's a big deal to me and somewhat spoiled at otherwise wonderful read.
September 30, 2021
I was prescient. In my last review I said that Stay and Fight by Madeline Ffitch— a book that would want humans to see themselves as ‘part of’ rather than ‘in control of’ all living and non-living things on earth—would prepare me for Petra. The main difference would be that in Petra, Petra Kelly, the main character and a fictitious representation of the real Green party leaders and activist, loves not only everything non-human, but also everything human. In. Stay and Fight most of the characters, other than the main family are criticized for their lack of sensitivity to the land around them. Petra Kelly and the other main characters in Petra do that too, but Petra herself loves even a former Nazi, in fact, he becomes her lover.
With Petra, I had hope right up to the last chapter. In the end we can each only do what we can do- some more courageously than others. To read abouts someone, who against all odds kept doing ‘the right’ thing made me read hungrily. I was inspired. However, in the end Petra and Stay and Fight seem to come to the same conclusion, a conclusion that is not flattering for the human race. After that somewhat traumatizing ending I am renewing my commitment to Sharon Van Etten’s phrase: love, love, and love more! You can hear Van Etten’s song at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JdVr... .
With Petra, I had hope right up to the last chapter. In the end we can each only do what we can do- some more courageously than others. To read abouts someone, who against all odds kept doing ‘the right’ thing made me read hungrily. I was inspired. However, in the end Petra and Stay and Fight seem to come to the same conclusion, a conclusion that is not flattering for the human race. After that somewhat traumatizing ending I am renewing my commitment to Sharon Van Etten’s phrase: love, love, and love more! You can hear Van Etten’s song at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JdVr... .
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