Part of the Solution (The German List)

It’s Berlin in the summer of 2003—sunshine for weeks on end, weather to fall in love. And that’s just what Christian Eich, the main character in Ulrich Peltzer’s acclaimed novel Part of the Solution, does; but that’s not all. Christian Eich, a thirty-something freelance journalist, is researching a story on the radicals of the previous generation in Germany. His path keeps crossing with Nele, a young member of a left-wing group of student activists who are resistant to the increasing control and surveillance of all spheres of life by state and commercial institutions. Not just a simple love story, Part of the Solution is in fact a thriller that leads from Berlin into the East German countryside and finally to Paris.

Peltzer’s keen observations of urban life are enriched with many concrete details specific to Berlin. Part of the Solution captures the feel and the reality of Berlin today and goes beyond it, touching on details common to the precarious lives of all inhabitants of contemporary cities. The unlikely couple of Christian and Nele come together despite all the differences of generation and character in this decidedly political novel grounded in present-day realities.

Despite his esteemed reputation in Germany, Peltzer’s novels have never before been available in English and this surprising and captivating book will be a fitting introduction for English readers unfamiliar with his work.

Ulrich Peltzer lives in Berlin and has written film scripts and five novels, including Stefan Martinez and Bryant Park. Martin Chalmers is a translator and editor living in Berlin. His translations include The Silences of Hammerstein by Hans Magnus Enzensberger, also published by Seagull Books.