The Recent East was pretty much as it was billed - a family saga told over several decades. It tells the story of Beate, Michael & Adela from Beate's life in post-war Germany, to New York State, back to Germany following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
My major criticism is that the book is far too long - I found myself losing interest in the middle section. However, the final act of the book is probably the most interesting, where the two siblings have grown up and are finding their own way. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more had I just read this part, but I acknowledge that without the first 2/3 of the book, there would be no weight to the last. Overall, I did enjoy reading The Recent East, but I feel it could have done with some heavy editing.

This novel begins with a family defection from East Germany and presents a family saga that addresses intergenerational trauma. The characters are well drawn, but the shifting timeline and overabundance of personalities made this one a bit disjointed and took away from narrative flow.

While the topic appeals to me (I've read a few other titles focusing on West and East Germany) the author's writing was not for me. Phrases such as "a muddy soup with fists of floating potato" made me roll my eyes. The characters also did not strike me as particularly convincing. Still, I can see that it would definitely work for other readers.

This poignant story was so captivating. I loved the historical elements and for a debut author, the imagery and writing style was amazing!

THE RECENT EAST begins with the defection of Beate and her parents from East Germany, and then jumps ahead in time to when Beate, now an adult with children living in the US, finds out the old house she lived in with her parents is available to her. She returns, newly divorced, to her hometown of Kritzhagen with her two young-ish children in tow. The book proceeds to span multiple generations, flashing forward and back in time highlighting themes of immigration, what is home, displacement, and love. After they first arrive, Beate retreats, while Michael, her son is able to embrace his sexuality in ways he wasn't able to in the US. Adela initially immerses herself in books about World War II, the Holocaust, and Eastern Germany as she tries to learn about her new way of life. She also becomes very close with a cousin she did not know existed. Over time we see the town change, from desolation, to a new hotbed for refugees (and neonazis), to a popular place to live. Because this book jumped around in time and main character frequently, I had a difficult time engaging with the material at times. As some characters faded into the background, I wanted to know more about what was going on with them. But Grattan highlights an interesting phenomenon- individuals who fled East Germany and return, and what that must potentially feel like.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for this advanced e-reader copy in exchange for honest review.

What a stunning and timely debut! One of my favorite aspects was the complexity of the interconnected characters, made even more salient by the shifting timeline. Incredibly well written and totally engaging.

I’m judging a 2021 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

I appreciate the tone and humor of the writing. For example, Because its freedoms seemed vast, because each story said something different. The West a puzzle she couldn’t begin to solve. Now Beate’s mother stood in her doorway—coat on, pulled-back hair turning her face peevish and alert, like a nun’s—and told her they were going there.
“West West?” Beate asked.
“Saying it once will do,” Mutti answered.

A compulsively readable debut novel from Thomas Grattan that explores a slice of "ostalgie" (the reminiscing over aspects of life in communist East Germany). Spanning decades between the 1960s and early 2000s, the novel follows Beate Haas and her teen (and later adult) children Michael and Adela as they return to the Kritzhagen home from which Beate's family defected in the 60s.

Though Kritzhagen isn't found on a map of Germany, it's described as seaside and within a short train ride to Lübeck, so in my mind I pegged it to be Baltic, something like the coastal city of Rostock. When reading this book it helps to have a rudimentary understanding of the former division of West and East Germany and the not-so-clear-cut ways in which things came together after reunification in 1989. This in part explains whey Beate remains so world weary about 'coming home' to a place that she never really knew. This very frank, fascinating family saga details the coming of age and reckoning of Beate and her family members, making for a compelling and memorable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m having a hard time with this one.
I couldn’t get into this book...
It was well written and interesting, but it couldn’t pull me in.
It felt disconnected, and I couldn’t concentrate on it.
But at the same time, it was totally complex and engaging. I totally understand the point of this book, and feel that it was well done. It accomplishes a lot as far as queer representation goes and the feel of Germany during this time period.
But as far as a reading perspective goes, I was not into it.
I could see myself reading this one again in the future and seeing if I like it more. I am all for those character driven books, I just don’t know why I didn’t jive with this.
Oprah recommends it, which is really cool!
This will probably be a lot of people’s cup of tea. I wish that it had been more of mine.