Berlin City-lit

Experience the haunting and exciting city of Berlin as never before, in the company of over sixty dazzling writers.
Join them as

Christopher Isherwood takes us to the cabaret
David Bowie cycles through Berlin
Anna Funder remembers Stasiland
Ian McEwan overhears talk at a Berlin bar
Christabel Bielenberg wouldn"t live anywhere else
David Hare contemplates a famous memorial
Marlene Dietrich receives a graveside homage
Chloe Aridjis shows us around town
John Simpson sees the Wall come down

… and much, much more.

‘This wonderful anthology explores what it is really like to be a Berliner by bringing together extracts about the city from a range of genres, including some specially translated. This was the city of Einstein, Brecht, George Grosz, and Marlene Dietrich. It was ‘the New York of the old world’, a melting pot of new ideas and lifestyles.’ - The Guardian

‘City-Lit Berlin gathers more than a hundred extracts from writers on aspects of Berlin’s conflicted heritage … the editors have trawled widely to try to capture the modern city’s rule-bound yet permissive tone, as well as its persistent state of cultural and architectural renewal. The result is an eclectic pillow-book … a stimulating intellectual tour of the idea of the city that would complement any guidebook’s more practical orientation’ – Financial Times

‘A fascinating cornucopia of Berlin writing by authors such as John Simpson, Ian McEwan and Anna Funder; artists such as David Bowie and Marlene Dietrich, and writers such as Jeffrey Eugenides, Philip Kerr and Thomas Pynchon. The beauty of this clever series is the breadth and reach of its contributors, be they artists, musicians, musos or writers – in turn, each lays claim to the city …This collection of writing gives a flavour to a city that has long nurtured its artists, giving them space to create, whether for one week or a lifetime’ – Real Travel Magazine