Schutzzone

Mira works in the diplomatic corp of the United Nations. From a first person perspective we peek into her head while she travels through her memories of past missions. From Genf to Burundi, to Den Haag, to New York and the Kongo. There are no clear plot lines, what we get is more of a understanding for the complexities and frustrations of working in the aftermath of political atrocities. The pool-side life of expats in their bubbles in war-ridden African countries. The detachment one needs to develop when you need to negotiate with suave political players, who might or might not have been involved in genocides. From former child soldiers to human rights experts, almost everyone we meet has developed a cynical or disenchanted attitude. It's the Schutzzone they need in order to survive or to be able to even engage.

Doing this in audio was probably a good decision. The long sentence structures that a few reviewers criticized, dissolved into a hypnotic stream of consciousness in the audiobook. And Constanze Becker did a great job in the narration. Still, I would have preferred a stricter plot line, to give the intriguing content a bit more structure.