German Book Review: Frei by Katharina Höftmann Ciobotaru

I´ve discovered the Israel-based German writer Katharina Höftmann Ciobotaru last year through her debut novel Alef. As the book was published she was far from being a debutant writer, as she published poetry before and had regular contributions as a journalist to German media outlets and a blogger. Alef is a multi-generational story of identity of trauma, set between the former GDR and the Middle East with a captivating story.

Her second novel, Frei - Free - published a couple of months ago, has the same strong storytelling charm, but it is relatively more focused and short - less than 200 pages. Also set in the former GDR - the author herself was born in Rostock - it has predominantly women characters. Billie, a young songwriter, searching for her freedom outside the limits of her assigned roles of wife and mother, and her mother, Christa, the passive opposite of her daughter. Timewise, the novel is set at the end of the two Germanies, with confused citizens trying to figure out the lies they lived in for decades, faced with the ultimate temptation of comfort and capitalist wealth. 

As much as I was charmed by the writing, I felt like the story ended too early, before reaching its potential. The characters are half way developed, being assigned big ideas and ideals, but are not allowed to fully tell their story. The scarcity of dialogues turns most of the story into long exchange of monologues, keeping captive the characters and the story plot. I understand the idea of giving women characters a stronger voice, but would have rather give more ´flesh´ to the men characters as well, for the balance and diversity of the story. The temptation of the monologue is strong and takes over the narrative, which is detrimental to the story development.

I was very keen to read Frei and the book has many good parts, but the length in my opinion influenced negatively all the decisions about building up the story. However, if you look of a German read with women characters clashing in their different interpretations of freedom, before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall, this book is a recommended read.

Rating: 3 stars