Contemporary German author Alina Bronsky discusses her book, *Broken Glass Park* with Marc Fitten, author of *Valeria's Last Stand* and editor of *The Chattahoochee Review*, Atlanta's oldest literary magazine. *Broken Glass Park* made a remarkable debut when it was published in Germany in 2008, and Alina has been the subject of constant praise and debate since. The heroine of this enigmatic, razor-sharp, and thoroughly contemporary novel is 17-year-old Sacha Naimann, born in Moscow. Sacha lives in Berlin now with her two younger siblings and, until recently, her mother. She is precocious, independent, skeptical and, since her stepfather murdered her mother several months ago, an orphan. Unlike most of her companions, she doesn't dream of leaving the tough housing project where they live. Her dreams are different: she wants to write a novel about her mother; and she wants to end the life of Vadim, the man who murdered her. What strikes the reader most in this exceptional novel is Sacha's voice: candid, self-confident, mature and childlike at the same time: a voice so like the voices of many of her generation with its characteristic mix of worldliness and innocence, skepticism and enthusiasm. This is Sacha's story and it is as touching as any in recent literature.
Partner:
Goethe-Zentrum Atlanta
