A Guide to Berlin

A Guide to Berlin

Summary

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2016 STELLA PRIZE

We travel to find ourselves; to run away from ourselves.

‘A Guide to Berlin’ is the name of a short story written by Vladimir Nabokov in 1925, when he was a young man of 26, living in Berlin.

A group of six international travellers, two Italians, two Japanese, an American and an Australian, meet in empty apartments in Berlin to share stories and memories. Each is enthralled in some way by the work of Vladimir Nabokov, and each is finding their way in deep winter in a haunted city. A moment of devastating violence shatters the group, and changes the direction of everyone’s story.

Brave and brilliant, A Guide to Berlin traces the strength and fragility of our connections through biographies and secrets.

Reviews

  • Brimming with rich descriptions… The dark, haunted cityscape of Berlin’s winter is beautifully captured… Jones explores her power as a writer, finding fresh and illuminating ways to describe things… A powerful exploration of biography, memory and meaning.
    Daily Telegraph

About the author

Gail Jones

Gail Jones lives in Sydney and teaches at the University of Western Sydney. Her books have won numerous literary awards in Australia. She is the author of two collections of short stories and five novels including Sixty Lights which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Dreams of Speaking which was shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and longlisted for the Orange Prize, and Sorry which was longlisted for the Orange Prize.
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