The Land of Green Plums : A Novel

"In this country we have to walk, eat, sleep and love in fear.” I found this a very harsh and difficult book to read. The meaning of each sentence is heavily shrouded in metaphor and it felt useless to try and understand it so I just tried to go along with the flow. But what is even more disconcerting is the sense of paranoia and claustrophobia that oozes from the text. It sticks to you like mud that you can’t seem to wash off. Nothing is safe from the prying eyes of the authorities and no one can be trusted. Even letters to family have to be written in code, which probably explains the overuse of metaphors and the reader’s general feeling of confusion. The atmosphere created by Muller’s words is so stifling that I often had to put the book down to be able to come up for air. As a reader, this was my privilege but I couldn’t imagine how people survived the frequent interrogations, the Party propaganda, the feeling that you are constantly being scrutinised and spied on during your most private moments. Herta Muller does not hold back. Her writing is cold, intense and evocative. TLOGP is not an enjoyable book to read as it will plunge you into the dark and murky depths of a totalitarian state. Chilling, brutal and bleak, this book will take you to a time and place that you wish had never existed. “How do you have to live, I wondered, to be in harmony with what you honestly think."