cover image No Man’s Land

No Man’s Land

Michael Califra. Amazon, $2.99 e-book (313p) ASIN B00K1HTFOY

Califra’s novel, about an American working in West Berlin during the fall of the Berlin Wall, in 1989, presents a historically enlightening picture of a changing world. The narrative begins prior to Berlin’s reunification, with the heavily guarded Berlin Wall a daily symbol of the Cold War, both for those living in Communist East Berlin and those in democratic West Berlin. The narrator, Richard, has a high-income software marketing job. His eclectic social group includes a womanizing priest, a miserable doctoral student, a fine-art hustler, a former border guard who escaped to West Berlin, an East Berlin bartender, and two lovers, Kati and Traudi. Kati is a free-spirited, impulsive life force in an open marriage. Traudi is a nurse from East Berlin, “addicted” to Communist Party ideology. Richard and Traudi’s deepening relationship and his frequent visits to East Berlin stoke his intellect and provide a curious diversion, until an intimidating encounter with the police about his cross-border excursions. In the end, Richard discovers a shocking secret about Traudi. The main character in this impressive novel is the physically and ideologically divided city of Berlin, described with incandescent, highly descriptive detail. This is a stimulating page-turner about a major turning point in history. (BookLife)