99 luftballons

Author : Nina willner
Title : Forty Autumns
Published : 04/10/2016
Pages : 416

     In this illuminating and deeply moving memoir, a former American military intelligence officer goes beyond traditional Cold War espionage tales to tell the true story of her family--of five women separated by the Iron Curtain for more than forty years, and their miraculous reunion after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

     I was lucky enough to be lent this book to read. Before this I had not heard of the book or the author.  My interestes in non fiction books has never really extended to the Cold War much. I was lucky Enough to spend a week in berlin last year, and whilst visiting the G.D.R museum gives you hints as to what life in east Germany was like it never paints a full picture. In my opinion this is only something you can get from some one telling your their story.  So it was with some curiosity that I headed in to this book to learn about Nina and her family.

     This book covers multiple generations of an east German family. Starting with Nina's grandparent And the end of the second world war. Whilst we do get to learn small parts about their lives it is more focused on the writers mother Hanna. Who defects to west in search for a better life. It is through her that we get to learn the fate of those left behind the berlin wall. We get to see her heartbreak at not being able to see or hear her parents or siblings. And how she started a family of her own and then trying to explain to her own children why the could never meet the rest of her family. An as for her family in the east we get to witness multiple generations struggle to survive the political turmoil's of the communist state and the Stasi. What I liked is that She mostly focuses on the fate of the women of her family. Which I find refreshing as most books about the cold war that I have come across tend to be about men.

     As a writer Nina comes across warmly on the page with great affection she details the highs and lows of her family's story. She also does an amazing job in tying in the course of a country from its inception to its eventual crumble and reunification. I don't think at any point I felt myself slowing down. WThe way she writes makes every chapter interesting and through the course of the book I managed to learn a few things about the G.D.R. There are a few sections of pictures through out the book giving face to the people your are reading about. which is good as she never really give a lot of time to describing what each of the family member's looks like. And to be honest I think when it comes to a non fiction book that's fine.

     This is a great book and I'm glad that I got to spend some time with it and it's author. Whilst at 416 pages long it might seam long I didn't feel it took me that long to get through. Plus some of those pages are used at the end for terminology and brief statements about what happen to parts of east Germany after the fall.  So in conclusion I'm glad I was lent the book. Its a great cold war drama and to be fair if that's not your thing the story of Nina's family I think might just be enough to carry you through to the finish line.