The Berlin Exchange

Product Information

No, I thought you might be here. And here you are. So, a good guess, no? You always bring your visitors here,” he said, looking at Martin, waiting. It’s not a secret, is it? Of course I know. In this work you have to know everything about your clients.” Martin glanced out the window. Another glass high-rise, dreary in gray Berlin, designed for sun. The socialist experiment, with car and driver.

What’s going to happen here? A war. Things will get worse and worse. And now it’s not so easy to go. But an American. And then you looked at me like that.”

The eyes of the Stasi are always watching. Discuss scenes where you noticed characters being careful about what they said, even when the Stasi weren’t mentioned. What did they seem most nervous about discussing and what did that say about the values of East Germany?

You’re a serious person,” she said, glancing at the rest of the room, her voice throaty with smoke. “That’s what I think. So far.” She hesitated for a moment, drawing on her cigarette. “You want to know? All right. We should never lie to each other, don’t you agree?” Kurt jumped in. “Yes, I know, how would it look? To the good West Germans. Hypocrites. But here are two more.” He nodded to the young men. “What do we do with them? More expenses.”This reading group guide for The Berlin Exchange includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book. You think that?” Digby said, pretending to be offended. “Not very nice. But I suppose you have to think like that. In your line of work.” Two years. Of course, the way he’s growing now, he may grow out of the part soon.” The proud father. Watch the documentary Behind the Wall (2011), the film The Debt (2010), or the film The Lives of Others (2006) and discuss as a group. Well, but you’re here. You’ll get to know each other better. Ah, look. Karl-Marx-Allee. Now you’ll see what we have done in the East. You remember when it was Frankfurter Allee? After the war, the bombing, there was absolutely nothing. They made a mountain in Volkspark Friedrichshain with the rubble. Now look.”

He’ll die,” the passenger said, hands still up in the air. He looked at the empty bridge, his eyes watering. For a moment Martin thought he would run, chance it, but his eyes now were on the guard’s gun, the years ahead. A journalist, Hans Reiger, constantly dogs Martin about a violent incident that occurred during his exchange, in an effort to answer the same questions Martin has about it. In chapter 4, Kurt insists again that “nobody wants such a story,” yet goes out of his way to throw Hans off the trail. What does this signal about the importance of Hans’s story? Who do you think could be interested after all?Out in Pankow. They prefer villas. All close together. Maybe to keep an eye on each other.” He arched his eyebrows, making a joke. “And maybe a little old-fashioned. This is—modern for them. So, here we are. Interhotel Berolina. Nothing but the best.”