An interesting thriller/mystery set in Berlin= both divided Berlin and the new merged city. It is to be commended for the detail about life in East Germany,.

Very enjoyable read, by an author who I had not previously come across.

Told as two parallel narratives, one in the past and the other the present, this is the story of a family split by the Berlin Wall and bought together by a murder, which is not solved until the last pages.

This is a well paced, well written/translated story which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Although it was strange for me to read a book in English, talking about Germany, it was very intersting, well written and I learned a lot about the former DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik).

The Wall Between is the first novel I've read that features the falling of the Berlin Wall and life in Germany before the fall.

In it we meet Andreas, a son searching for and trying to get to know his father following his death.

Andreas' father is former Stasi officer and Andreas is forced to search for answers from people whose lives in East Berlin have led them to be cautious or even fearful of the truth.

They do not want to answer Andreas' questions, but he is desperate to know the truth.

The wall between offers us three differing perspectives, those of Peter; the deceased Stasi officer, his illegitimate son; Andreas and one of his 'victims'.

But rather than damning the DDR State Sicherheit, this novel lets us draw our own conclusions as we given the perspectives of those living through the troubled and difficult periods.

It is a clever and thought provoking novel and one that should be considered by anyone looking for something a little different to read.

A Gripping and moving story of the former East Germany.

Andreas lives in Copenhagen and receives a letter informing him that his father who he has never met has been stabbed to death in Berlin, and that he has inherited his flat. Keen to understand more about the father that his mother wouldn’t speak of he travels to Berlin to discover more.

Jesper Bugge Kold combines multiple timelines and characters to produce a brilliant story of the GDR, the Stasi and relationships. This book reminded somewhat of the film “Life of Others” and anyone who liked the film or is interested to the former East Germany should read this.

It’s tautly written but with some almost cinematic descriptions of Berlin. I found it an absolute page turner and read it within a day which is unusual for me.

Highly recommended.

Great read, really gripping. The characters were really well developed and interesting. Also really enjoyed the descriptions of Berlin.

After a slow start, this book became engrossing the more I got into it. Andreas travels from Denmark to Berlin after the murder of the father, Peter, he's never known. He has inherited Peter's apartment and decides to stay on after the funeral in order to learn more about Peter's life.
Horrified upon discovering Peter was a high ranking Stasi operative, Andreas returns to Denmark.
Peter's idealism and the effect it has on the lives of the people he spied on make for a depressing read. The depiction of life in Eastern Germany, the dreariness, the paranoia, the hopelessness and the greyness of it all, is very sobering. It beggars belief that this regime (and others like it) last as long as they do. When will we learn?
The Wall Between is beautifully written, the sense of being in the GDR very strong and Andreas' soul searching moving. The optimistic note the story ended on made this an excellent read, highly recommended.
Thank you Netgalley and AmazonCrossing for the eARC.

5 Stars

This is the story of Peter, Andreas and Stefan, and Stefan’s brother Alexander. The book goes back and forth between 1975 plus and 2006.

During his student days in 1975, Peter falls for a girl named Elisabeth. She is a student from Copenhagen. Unbeknownst to Peter when she returns home, she gives birth to a son whom she names Andreas.

Meanwhile Peter works for the Stasi, the German Democratic Republic’s (GDR), secret police. AS he rises in the ranks, he spies, reports and evaluates his neighbors and people he sees on the streets for desirability and to judge whether they are a danger to the state. What constitutes a danger is certainly in the eye of the beholder.

Stefan and Alexander dream of defecting to the West. They plan ways in which they can escape.

Andreas goes to Berlin after the fall of the wall to bury his father and to get to know him. Andreas is kind of a failure. He never finished his masters degree, has never really held a job and generally drifts through life. He decides to stay in Berlin to learn more about his father. That he worked for the Stasi comes as a big surprise.

The Stasi was built on fear and manipulation and a complete disregard for human rights. Repression by the state was transformed into protecting people – from themselves. This is a quote from the review, “…the price of blind allegiance to ideology, and the moral complexity of personal culpability.” Andreas has a very hard time understanding why his father worked for such a system.

This book takes a very hard look at life in the GDR, the Stasi and the lengths some will go to preserve their idea of what is right. It is downright scary. I remember hearing occasional stories of people escaping from the GDR and this book brought it all back. It had to be truly awful to risk all for a taste of freedom. This book was both eye opening and so sad. Even after the fall of the wall, there was a group who still believed in the fall of capitalism and the decadence of the West.

Jesper Bugge Kold is a remarkable author. The book is thoughtful, well written and plotted. I will definitely read more of his work. (And hats off to his translator – he did a very good job as well.)

I want to truly thank Netgalley and AmazonCrossing for forwarding to me a copy of this most wonderful book to read.

Sorry but it is very rare when I put a book down after a few chapters (probably 3 books in 37yrs). Really could not understand it or get the book.

You want a book that is difderent.... you want a book that will make you think... you want a book that is not a cookie cutter book... you want a well Witten book with a plot and character set that is well thought our and descriptiono are perfect and deeo... THIS is the book you need to read then!!! All this and more! Pulls you in and then won't let you go! haunting!