It All Tastes of Farewell

<b>Continuing where Reimann's earlier book of diaries <i>I Have No Regrets</i> left off in 1964 this volume is a compelling and frank account of one woman's life and loves in 1960s East Germany.</b> <p/><i>It All Tastes of Farewell</i> is a frank account of one woman's life and loves in 1960s East Germany. As a writer Brigitte Reimann could not help but tell a compelling story and that is born out here in her diaries which are gripping as any novel. She recorded only what mattered: telling details emotional truths and political realities. Never written for publication and first published in full in German only after the fall of the Berlin Wall these diaries offer a unique record of what it felt like to live in a country that no longer exists was represented for years largely through Cold War propaganda and is still portrayed in fairy-tale Stasi dramas. Here we get a sense of lived experience as if Doris Lessing or Edna O'Brien had been allowed in with their notebooks. This volume continues where her earlier book of diaries <i>I Have No Regrets</i> left off in 1964. It sees Reimann grow wistful and at times bitter as her love life her professional life and her health all suffer. Yet throughout she retains a lively appetite for new experiences and a dedication to writing. Finally she finds security in a surprising new love and although she died soon after this volume ends the novel she was writing was to become a much-read cult hit after her death. <p/> A remarkable document from a time and place that we still struggle to see clearly <i> It All Tastes of Farewell</i> is unforgettable a last gift from an essential writer. <br>