Genossin Kuckuck

"Genossin Kuckuck" is full of images that leave an indelible impression. The giant slugs that crawl over the pages again and again, for example, are not only visible, they can be felt. Anke Feuchtenberger spent 13 years working on her magnum opus, in which she comes to terms with her upbringing in the GDR. Through the wide, sad eyes of her protagonist Kerstin, she conjures up memories and images of her own East German youth. However, "Genossin Kuckuck" is not a typical GDR reappraisal literature. Feuchtenberger works metaphorically and associatively; she conjures up moods rather than concrete events; she does not illustrate everyday life, but brings to light what has been repressed and makes tangible the psychological consequences of what has been experienced. In this way, Anke Feuchtenberger vividly conveys the oppressive atmosphere in the East German provinces and how it affected adolescents. At the same time, "Genossin Kuckuck" is a universal novel about life in restrictive circumstances.