Berlin, July 1986 - Katharina, a young student, and Hans, an older married man, meet by chance and embark on an affair; when cracks begin to form in the relationship, the power imbalance turns abusive…

I really loved all the details of the richly-portrayed GDR setting - the mundanities of life and how things worked, such as flat allocations, getting a place to study or what was available in the shops. The story unfolds over several years, and through changes happening in the background of the story, we witness the implosion of the GDR and subsequent process of reunification from an East German perspective - it wasn’t all wide-eyed wonder and jubilation as can often be portrayed in the West. It’s worth noting that the main characters are both well-educated, aware of and interested in what’s happening, which inevitably affects how they experience the transition.

Ultimately the story revolves around the imbalance of power within a relationship and the power dynamics are very well written, both in terms of the abuse and acceptance of it. But I found the generational differences particularly interesting to think about - Hans grew up in the Hitler Youth and post-war years whereas Katharina grew up under socialism, with inevitable small lingering effects on their respective outlooks on life, the self and Germany itself, even if neither particularly ascribes to those ideologies.

So why only three stars? Well…I was neither drawn in by relationship that is basically the book’s entire story, nor invested in either of the main characters. Not caring about the plot or characters is a bit of a fundamental issue, no matter how great the writing is (and it is excellent in this case). That said, I’m not surprised this won the International Booker - with the superb writing and rich setting which actually gave me a lot to think about, it was my runner-up choice to win.

A story of the power imbalances within an abusive relationship with a large age gap - come for the richly-depicted late 80s tumultuous GDR setting and excellent writing, not the dull plot.