Part of the Solution

Translated from the original German by Martin Chalmers

2013 Longlist

It’s Berlin in the summer of 2003-sunshine for weeks on end, weather to fall in love. And that’s just what Christian Eich, the main character in Ulrich Peltzer’s acclaimed novel Part of the Solution, does; but that’s not all. Christian Eich, a thirty-something freelance journalist, is researching a story on the radicals of the previous generation in Germany. His path keeps crossing with Nele, a young member of a left-wing group of student activists who are resistant to the increasing control and surveillance of all spheres of life by state and commercial institutions. Not just a simple love story, Part of the Solution is in fact a thriller that leads from Berlin into the East German countryside and finally to Paris.

Peltzer’s keen observations of urban life are enriched with many concrete details specific to Berlin. Part of the Solution captures the feel and the reality of Berlin today and goes beyond it, touching on details common to the precarious lives of all inhabitants of contemporary cities. The unlikely couple of Christian and Nele come together despite all the differences of generation and character in this decidedly political novel grounded in present-day realities.

Despite his esteemed reputation in Germany, Peltzer’s novels have never before been available in English and this surprising and captivating book will be a fitting introduction for English readers unfamiliar with his work.

(From Publisher)

About the Author

Ulrich Peltzer lives in Berlin and has written film scripts and five novels, including Stefan Martinez (1995) and Bryant Park (2002). Peltzer is the winner of several awards including the Berlin Literature Award of the Preussische Seehandlung Foundation (2008) and Spycher Literature Award Leuk (2008). Part of the Solution has also been translated into Italian, Spanish and Portugese.

Librarian’s Comments

The Berlin journalist Christian Eich is researching a story on the radicals of the previous generation in Germany. He is falling in love with Nele, a young member of a left-wing group of student activists. On the historical background, Peltzer captures the feel and reality of Berlin today in a precise cinematic narrative technique in Part of the Solution.