
The Berlin Crossing
By Kevin Brophy
‘Its humanity, attention to period detail and sheer guts will win you over’ – The Guardian
BRANDENBURG 1993: The Berlin Wall is down, the country is reunified and thirty-year-old school teacher Michael Ritter feels his life is falling apart.
His wife has thrown him out, his new West German headmaster has fired him for being a socialist, former Party member and he is still clinging on to the wreckage of the state that shaped him. Disenfranchised and disenchanted, Michael heads home to care for his terminally ill mother.
Before she dies, she urges him to seek out an evangelical priest, Pastor Bruck, who is the only one who knows the truth about his father. When Michael eventually tracks him down, he is taken on a journey of dark discoveries, one which will shatter his foundations, but ultimately bring him hope to rebuild them.
Haunting and redemptive, The Berlin Crossing is a compelling, unique portrayal of one man’s struggle to understand his past, uncovering a powerful story of love and survival in sixties Stasi East Germany.
Praise for The Berlin Crossing:
‘There are distinct echoes… of the shadowy, sinister world evoked in John Le Carre’s The Spy Who Came In From the Cold‘ – Irish Independent
‘This fascinating tale, which throws new light on recent history, is an excellent first novel’ – Literary Review
‘Bittersweet and beautifully observed’ – Financial Times