HERKUNFT

Stanišić explores his “Herkunft” (origin) in this autobiographical novel. In non-chronological segments he tells us of his relationship to his Serbian grandma, who may or may not have been head of the local mafia, of his family's escape from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Germany during the Yugoslav war, of the challenges of integrating into the new country, discovering a love of language and his later visits to reconnect with his roots and leftover family members in Bosnia. His stories are quirky and dry, amusing and touching, riffing on topics like family, memories and belonging.

Stanišić narrates the audiobook himself, and his accented German and skillful intonations make this a very entertaining experience. I realized after that this actually is an abridged version, and that part of the printed book would have been hard to adapt for audio. Which gives me extra reason to maybe purchase a hardcopy after all.