The history of East and West Germany is one of division: The wall that stretched for decades between the two not only separated a nation but also families. Jürgen Dittberner's novel provides an impressive testament to this recent chapter of German history: Friedrich Wurm from Potsdam and Peter Schnabel from West Berlin are cousins. Their lives are shaped by the respective political systems in which they grow up. Their shared roots do not protect them from a gradual estrangement. Yet, astonishing parallels emerge in the lives of the cousins on both sides of the wall. Dittberner skillfully portrays the living conditions in both parts of Germany and spans the timeline from the end of World War II to reunification—when the cousins meet again. Is there a rapprochement between Wurm and Schnabel?.