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The Reader Berlin PRESENTS
STREETS OF BERLIN:
AN ANTHOLOGY
EDITED BY
Victoria Gosling
Published by The Reader Berlin
Text copyright © individual authors 2015
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
CONTENTS
Horst-Wessel-Stadt by Will Studdert
The Ambit by Will Bentley
A Monkey on a Horse by James Carson
Blood Red Oxfords, Size 39 by Emily Cataneo
Hunger by Jessie Keyt
One Thousand Nine Hundred Nineteen by Julia Lackermayer
The Jars by Alice Miller
Junk for Suckers by Lizzie Roberts
Eclipse by Abby Sinnott
Gegen Entgegen by Simon Ward
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank everyone at epubli for all their help and support. Furthermore, this book would not exist were it not for the valiant assistance of Michael Reid and the generosity of Florian Duijsens, Laura Hassan and Brittani Sonnenberg. Finally, much gratitude is owed to our sponsors The Curved House, Jamesons Whiskey, RSVP Berlin, SAND and The Circus Hotel.
EDITOR’S NOTE
It’s an honour to present such a strong collection of original stories. They are as unusual, as exciting and surprising, as the city to which they pay homage, and like Berlin they reward careful attention.
Having been part of this project from start to finish – from competition launch, to judging, to working with the authors to edit these stories for publication – it’s satisfying to see it reach its conclusion. I’m haunted by more than one piece which didn’t make the final selection, and am conscious of the editor’s burden, the continuing worry about whether I’ve served these tales as well as they deserve. I have respected the authors’ differences with regard to British or American English. If any errors remain I take full responsibility for them.
Books, I’ve learned, have two lives: the one prior to publication which is full of striving and struggle, and the one that comes afterwards in which they are free to wander the world, striking up conversations with strangers. It’s time to set this book free to find its readers. I hope it brings them as much pleasure as it has brought me.
Victoria Gosling
The Reader Berlin
July 2015
A WORD FROM OUR JUDGES
‘Holding a writing competition is a bit like going fishing in strange waters. You have no idea what’s out there, and that makes it exciting.’ So said Victoria Gosling, the founder of The Reader Berlin, when she approached us to judge The Reader’s Berlin Short Story Competition 2014. With the aim of discovering and rewarding emerging voices, the competition attracted a deluge of entries from countries all over the world, and as our deliberations progressed, it became clear that the catch was astoundingly diverse.
There were vignettes of a recognizably gentrifying Berlin; there were strange tales of freakish beauty; then came the historical, the futuristic, the ghastly, those that offered glances at Berlin’s many scenes, tales of outsiders looking in, and insiders looking out. The theme of Berlin sent writers on tangents that were wondrous to behold and testing to compare: a goldfish, a shark, and a mossy bicycle are all perfect in their own ways.
We were looking for distinctive voices and pieces that not only succeeded in avoiding obvious pitfalls, but were successful on their own terms, while staying true to the spirit of this city. We decided that we didn’t want a compromise solution; therefore, rather than awarding each story a number of points and seeing which one was the least offensive, each of us narrowed down our respective short lists to four favorites and prepared to slug it out.
But we all chose the same winning story. It was unanimous.
“Horst-Wessel-Stadt” by Will Studdert is a pitch-perfect evocation of wartime Berlin that draws on a fascinating facet of World War II history and goes for none of the easy or sentimental targets. With superbly written prose, a compelling voice, and a tone of escalating menace, the story – while ambitious – never tests credibility. It’s a sustained turn that never flags.
The nine finalists’ stories are also impressive, and we’re glad you’ve sought them out. These are writers whose work will create ripples.
FlorianDuijsens, Laura Hassan and Brittani Sonnenberg
Horst-Wessel-Stadt
Will Studdert
The wee small hours of Saturday, 9 December, 1939 (I cannot see the clock)
Old Man Winter finally dug his blasted heels in tonight & yet fool that I am I smoke at my leisure & wander the Milky Way from my little balcony here in Horst-Wessel-Stadt. The blackout is a grand thing for us amateur astronomers & the firmament is positively aflame. It is worth braving the cold for this marvel. I do hope you can decipher my hand wherever & whenever you are, dear Snooper – no man is a calligrapher in the midst of a blooming blackout & shivering does not help. Surely even you must grant me that.
Rather sloshed, to be perfectly honest with you. Yes, I am here at the arse-end of a night on the razzle-dazzle, chiefly with the Brit. & the Yankee orphans this time. A motley crew of chancers & expats & political refugees who wound up stranded in Berlin at the Radio in some way, shape, or form & we have been so busy of late pushing the kraut line over the wireless to our respective homelands & had little reason to meet outside our stuffy offices at the Funkhaus before. The happy occasion of our all meeting at once like this was a last-minute invite to an afternoon screening at Goebbels’s private cinema out by the lakes somewhere. (Babelsberg? My geog. here is wretched.) A little treat for us propagandists. Back-to-back Chaplin flicks, of all things! Comfortable upholstered seats &