BVBook Verdict
Essential Read

Kairos

by Jenny Erpenbeck · 2008

Literary Fiction · ranked #236 in category

In late-1980s East Berlin, a young woman begins a relationship with an older, married writer — an affair that becomes a mirror for the slow-motion collapse of East Germany itself. Erpenbeck's International Booker Prize-winning novel is about love, control and the way personal and political history become inseparable when a state ends.

UK: Bookshop.org US: Print on Amazon Kindle Audiobook

UK visitors: Bookshop.org supports independent bookshops. All links open a search — never a specific listing. As an Amazon Associate and Bookshop.org affiliate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The verdict

Category
Literary Fiction
First published
2008 · 2000s
Author
Jenny Erpenbeck
Standing
Essential Read

If you liked this

More literary fiction worth your shelf. See the full books like Kairos list. Or try our book club guide.

Beloved Toni Morrison · 1987 Editor's Choice See details →
The Stranger Albert Camus · 1942 Essential Read See details →
The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro · 1989 Essential Read See details →
Atonement Ian McEwan · 2001 Essential Read See details →
The Secret History Donna Tartt · 1992 Essential Read See details →
The Goldfinch Donna Tartt · 2014 Essential Read See details →

Ready to read it?

Get Kairos

Buy at Bookshop.org → Print on Amazon → Kindle edition Audiobook

As an Amazon Associate, Bookshop.org and CJ Affiliate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Magzter

Between books? Read magazines too.

Book readers love Magzter — 10,000+ magazines and newspapers on any device, 50% off the annual GOLD plan.

Start Reading — 50% off Annual Plan →