#Review of 'Motherland'

'Motherland' by Jo McMillan is a pretty unusual novel (more of a memoir), as it is based around the author's experience of growing up with a staunchly communist mother, who began a 'relationship' of sorts with Communist Germany (German Democratic Republic or GDR) when the Berlin Wall was in place and it was pretty unwise to do so.

GDR memoir style novels are, understandably, a thing, it's been almost thirty years since the Berlin Wall fell and East Germans people are starting to process this period in history and confront the past; there is Stasi Land by Anna Funder, which looks at how Stasi oppression destroyed lives, Sonnenallee, a nostalgic but emotional comedy about growing up literally in the shadow of the Berlin Wall and the internationally successful film, Goodbye Lenin, a tragicomedy, which looks at the innocence of German Socialism twinned with the ruinous effect it had on ordinary lives, aswell as the fairly recent TV series 'Deutschland 83' which looks at the cold war aspect of things. There is even a phenomenon in the former East called 'Ostalgie' ,whereby people nostalgize the good part of their GDR

I was incredibly excited to read this as I spent some time living in Leipzig and Erfurt, two former GDR cities and as friends, teachers and colleagues shared their personal history of the GDR, I became intrigued. What was this place like? The clues were in the kitsch furniture that still cluttered flats and cafes, the abandoned factories and the practically abandoned towns. The prefabricated tower blocks. The sensible, thrifty attitude of older people I met. The people I encountered who spoke fluent Russian and had former links with Vietnam and Cuba. Even the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, grew up in this world. I have only met a handful of people (IRL) who traveled into East Germany from Berlin, so I was hoping Jo might throw a bit of an interesting light on all of this.

Sadly, this book didn't really work for me and I have very mixed feelings about it. 

I think it was a mistake not to write it as either a historical YA, focusing on Jess's experiences, or as a memoir, reflecting on her experiences with an adult's knowledge. Instead it falls somewhere in between and this isn't really satisfactory. 

Jess, our main character, is the most boring teenager to ever appear on paper. She happily spends all her free time selling a Communist newspaper or attending meetings with adults in the Communist party. Apart from a brief half-arsed attempt to defect to East Germany, Jess doesn't seem to know what rebellion means. Quite ironic really, given how often she reads Marxist theory.  She has no peers apart from the elusive Martina, who is surprisingly not interested in her friendship. There was a missed opportunity to create a more interesting protagonist here.

Eleanor, Jess's mother, is even more frustrating. I really wanted to shake her out of her romantic Socialist  world. She is a charming character but dangerously out of step with reality. She ignores anything that doesn't fit in with her passion for Communism; she ignores the Prague spring, Soviet proxy war in Afghanistan and has no scruples about cosying up to the GDR authorities so that she can experience 'Socialism in action' and live out this romantic fairytale.  I hope Jeremy Corbyn didn't spend the late 70's/early 80's in this bubble!

Eleanor is a real warning that we should never get too blinkered in our political views. She doesn't allow Jess to have her own identity (not that Jess craves one for most of the novel, I think she is doing busy being the adult in the relationship) and this is so sad. It's like how not to parent. 

Eleanor starts an ill-advised relationship with one of her GDR colleagues, Peter and obsesses about him throughout the year. What is annoying is that she seems to have no qualms about contacting him frequently from the UK, which basically endangers his safety and brings him under suspicion (or she is the most naive person ever!)

There are some well-painted characters in this. My favourite character was Martina. She is under no allusions as to the restrictive life she faces living in the GDR. The best scenes were with her too, we are introduced to a non-chalant Martina on top of the Belrin Fernsehturm, there is an honest ferris wheel ride with Jess after a propaganda-filled visit to the Berlin Soviet Memorial and the scene in the lake where she tries to subtly confront Jess about how she hates living in the GDR is really affecting. I thought more could have been made of the relationship between the girls. Chapters from Martina's point of view would have been brilliant! Another great character was Saskia, she is a party member involved in the GDR summer course. She always wears white and is a bit of a villainess and there are subtle hints about her mysterious World War 2 past. Nothing more about her though!

I have been harsh here because this book had so much potential, the material itself is brilliant and is a good but not complete insight into GDR life but it just did not work for me, having said this some of the writing is really good and I genuinely read compulsively to find out how the story was resolved in the end.  I would have enjoyed it more if the imbalance in the relationship between mother and daughter was addressed and if the characters had developed somewhat.  All in all, it is still an interesting read for those interested in modern German history.