Christiane Hoffmann and Nino Haratischwili: what links their work is the way they interweave the contemporary history of Eastern Europe with personal experience in a very special way, bringing the struggle for freedom and democracy to life. When asked who her favourite conversation partner was, Christiane Hoffmann replied spontaneously: Nino Haratischwili. And Nino Haratischwili? She agreed immediately. Yet the two have never actually met in person. Thus, the festival once again has the pleasure of facilitating a meeting between these authors.
Please note: The event will be held in German.
Having made a name for herself with »Everything We Don’t Remember: On Foot Along My Father’s Escape Route« (a surprise bestseller with over 140,000 copies sold), Christiane Hoffmann this time tells her own story in a very personal way: it is the story of a young woman studying in Leningrad during the fall of the Berlin Wall, hoping that Russia’s cultural awakening might be the driving force behind the country’s democratisation. Many shared this hope; Ukraine also plays a role, making this a narrative about »The Dreams We Had«.
»The Dreams We Had« could also be the title of Nino Haratischwili’s great Georgian trilogy about the struggles for independence, the wars and civil wars following the end of the Soviet Union. With her new book »The Foreign Paradises«, she continues to explore the dream of freedom – two books and two remarkable authors, then, who recount in very concrete and personal terms the tragic failure of the struggles for freedom in the post-Soviet era.
PERFORMERS
Christiane Hoffmann reading, talk
Nino Haratischwili reading, talk
