Marlene Dietrich Lived Here

A middle-aged hippie confronting his ideals and beliefs may not appear the most original of ideas, but in Eleanor Bailey's second novel it comes across as fresh and funny, at times tragicomic. The setting is Berlin at the beginning of the new millennium, and the central character is the half-English/half-German Eric Brandt, a rather talentless artist who struggles as a cafe and gallery owner. His extended family includes his ex-wife Katrina, an interior designer who sold out; their grown-up daughter Nina who is making a splash with her sexual spin on concept art; his ex-girlfriend Ursula, also a struggling artist, and their precocious eight-year-old son Otto. Last but not least is Eric's younger brother Max, who has the real talent and the outer trappings of success. After years of silence, misunderstanding and recrimination, Eric receives the shock of his life when Max tries to kill himself. Tentatively reaching out to his brother, he invites Max to stay with him to recover. As the brothers circle each other, they struggle for acceptance of themselves and each other. They are as close and as far apart as two people can be, and their indirect confrontations affect everyone in Eric's circle. This is a polished story of family and loss. It is also a novel about art and the myth of Art with a capital A, which can tempt, persuade and destroy. Berlin is more than a setting, it is a character, an idea. It's a place that is forever changing and reinventing itself, and Eric the '60s radical is still trying to come to terms with the fall of the Wall and all its implications. This may sound like an overpowering mixture - the madness of family, the madness of art, and the madness of Berlin - but Bailey pulls it off with a lightness of touch and a healthy dose of irony. A terrific read. (Kirkus UK)