Berlin Is My Paris - Stories from the Capital

Literary Nonfiction. Women's Studies. Translated by Abigail Fagan. Her thoughts actually revolved around Paris, stoking the fire of her imagination. Paris, the dream of a city that kept her going. Yet she decided on the incomplete city of Berlin, a city of change and aspiration: A mirror of her own development and symbolic for arrival in a new world. Romanian author Carmen-Francesca Banciu has lived in Berlin since 1991 and has since become a part of the city herself. In her autobiographical reports and literary miniatures, she immerses herself in the life of the metropolis, visits enchanting localities from world history, and tells of her encounters with interesting and unique people. She whisks readers away to her favorite cafes, goes on journeys of discovery through dreamy court yards, and shows how Paris can be forgotten in this New Berlin. Melancholic, jovial, and idiosyncratic stories of life between two cultures and of a city that is once again starting to exude cosmopolitan flair.

"You sense that someone is really being honest here and testing the limits of a newly learned language while also thoroughly exploring the ways in which a city might become a home."--Berliner Zeitung

"A home of words. Although Paris was the city of her dreams, Romanian author Carmen-Francesca Banciu certainly doesn't feel out of place in Berlin...BERLIN IS MY PARIS brings together texts not only about making the switch to this new city, but also about 'coming into your own in a new language.'"--Der Tagesspiegel