Go, Went, Gone
Written on June 6th, 2022 by Jenny Erpenbeck
This book was selected by your mod team, based on the winning genre of contemporary literature, selected in our community poll.
The mod who nominated the book for mod consideration, has a few words to share on why she made this suggestion.
“I bought Go, Went, Gone on an absolute whim at the start of the year. Anyone who knows me knows I buy very few books (me and the library are best buds) but the combination of a pretty cover (I’m such a sucker) and a bookseller recommendation convinced me to give it a go, and I’m so glad I did.
Go, Went, Gone is a story about borders, bureaucracy and the politics of home. Set in modern day Berlin, it follows a not-entirely sympathetic professor who, upon retiring, becomes interested in a group of refugees occupying Oranienplatz. From this perspective, the book asks us to consider what it means to be displaced and uses the backdrop of Berlin to poke at the way borders are drawn and enforced.
I hope that this book will give us lots to consider and discuss, especially in face of the ongoing refugee crisis both in Europe and world wide. As we follow the protagonist through his own journey of unlearning prejudices and questioning assumptions, I think Go, Went, Gone will offer an opportunity to reflect on our limitations and biases, and question the systems that reinforce them.
Ultimately though, I believe this is a story full of hope — hope in goodness of people and belief in the power of community — and I can think of no better themes to share with everyone in the Branching Out Book Club.”
