Exquisitely translated by Susan Bernofsky, Go, Went, Gone addresses one of the most pivotal issues of our time, facing it head-on in a voice that is both nostalgic and frightening. (Chapter 3, ) Richard and his wife Christel had a comfortable life together, but they often told each other that they knew they would not be immune to hardship. You can never count on freedom from mayhem. Go, Went, Gone is a scathing indictment of Western policy toward the European refugee crisis, but also a touching portrait of a man who finds he has more in common with the Africans than he realizes. Chapters 31-40 Chapters 41-55 Go, Went, Gone Important Quotes 1. Early on in the novel, he finds ‘a surprising new community on Oranienplatz among the African asylum seekers who have set up a tent city there. Curiosity turns to compassion and an inner transformation, as he visits their shelter, interviews them, and becomes embroiled in their harrowing fates. The novel’s protagonist is a retired University professor of Classical Philology named Richard, a man who has lived alone in Berlin since the death of his wife. His wife has died, and he lives a routine existence until one day he spies some African refugees staging a hunger strike in Alexanderplatz.

The novel tells the tale of Richard, a retired classics professor who lives in Berlin. Go, Went, Gone is the masterful new novel by the acclaimed German writer Jenny Erpenbeck, 'one of the most significant German-language novelists of her generation' (The Millions). New York Times Notable Book 2018 Foreign Affairs Best Book of 2018 Lois Roth Award WinnerĪn unforgettable German bestseller about the European refugee crisis: 'Erpenbeck will get under your skin' (Washington Post Book World)

Go went gone by jenny erpenbeck