Stasiland

I'm currently reading the book Stasiland by Anna Funder. It's a personal account of Funder's search for the forgotten history of German Democratic Republic. I can honestly say that I know next to nothing about the GDR. For example, I had know idea this was the East German coat of arms:


The book is illuminating. I usually prefer fiction to non-fiction, but Stasiland is an amazing history lesson wrapped in a tight narrative form, it's actually quite poetic:

After Funder is told a particularly harrowing tale in her apartment, she is at a loss for words. She writes, "I look in the fridge for something else to eat, as if it might yield possibilities missed at first glance. There's an old saggy condom of liverwurst and an apple. I throw out the liverwurst and cut up the apple." (pg. 113)

While I can't say I've ever been a fan of liverwurst, that description is kind of a nail in the coffin.