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  • Published: 3 December 2019
  • ISBN: 9780241391808
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 192
  • RRP: $22.99

Gilgi, One of Us




A brilliant feminist novel from Weimar Germany, from the author of Child of All Nations

Gilgi knows where she's going in life: she's ambitious, determined and fearless. She's not even derailed when her parents drop a massive bombshell on her twenty-first birthday. But then she meets the charming but aimless Martin, and for the first time, Gilgi finds herself blown bewilderingly and dangerously off-course. Set in Cologne against the backdrop of rising Nazism, Irmgard Keun's astonishing debut electrified Weimar Germany. With its frank exploration of sex, abortion, work and love, it feels as fresh today as when it first appeared.

  • Published: 3 December 2019
  • ISBN: 9780241391808
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 192
  • RRP: $22.99

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Praise for Gilgi, One of Us

A gem of novel, a bittersweet delight ... Keun brilliantly conveys both the decadence and the despair of late-era Weimar Germany ... Expertly translated by Geoff Wilkes

Herald Scotland

The overwhelming power of Keun's work lies in her surprisingly raw, witty, and resonant feminine voices

Bookslut

I was struck by how contemporary the novel feels ... A female Times reviewer in 1932 noted that 'countless hard-working, industrious, healthy young girls recognized themselves in the heroine'. I suspect many members of our #MeToo generation will do so as well

The New York Times