Cloud and Wallfish (35 page)

Everything that claims to be a historical document in this book — the speeches of Margot Honecker; the decrees of the East German government; quotes from the local newspaper, the
Berliner Zeitung
— is real. I have translated those passages from the German, but I haven’t changed what they say. As well as newspapers and books from the period, I also had the journals we kept, the notes I was always taking, the photographs taken at that time by us and by our friends.

One way in which my own experience in East Berlin was very different from that of Noah in this story is that I wasn’t as lonely. Eric and I had wonderful friends in East Germany, and with them we went on walks in the woods, attended concerts and plays, and talked endlessly about the future of the world.

In this book, the fictional parts — the story — are mostly to be found in the regular chapters, and the nonfictional historical material in the Secret Files at the end of each chapter. But of course there is a lot of history in the fictional parts of the book, and of course every account of history always has some fiction mixed up in it. When you read a nonfiction book, or nonfiction parts of fictional books, you have to stay as alert as any researcher (or spy). Truth and fiction are tangled together in everything human beings do and in every story they tell. Whenever a book claims to be telling the truth, it is wise (as Noah’s mother says at one point) to
keep asking questions.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the two people without whom this book would still be nothing more than a secret file: Ammi-Joan Paquette and Kaylan Adair.

The people of Candlewick are fiercely creative and intelligent. Kaylan Adair’s amazing ability to ask the right questions about every page turned revision into a fine adventure. Allison Cole made the book better in countless ways. Maryellen Hanley designed the strikingly beautiful cover. My thanks also to John Mendelson, Kathleen Rourke, and Phoebe Kosman, for everything they do to get books into children’s hands. Betsy Uhrig did a valiant job with the copyedits, and Hannah Mahoney checked everything twice.

The wonderful Rosemary Brosnan gave me the great gift of encouragement at a crucial moment: thank you! Jenn Reese and Jayne Williams were catalysts for all sorts of small and large miracles, and I am so lucky to know them.

I have explored Berlin with many extraordinary people over the years. My parents, Robert Nesbet and Helen MacPherson Nesbet, dragged me to (West) Germany when I was a teenager. I wasn’t grateful then, but I am now. Susan Nesbet and Barbara Nesbet and Will Waters kept me reasonably sane that year and continue to do so.

Eric Naiman has been asking for a book about Berlin ever since the German Democratic Republic forced us to get married so that he could come East with me in 1989. It took a long time, but here it finally is! With Lee Naiman and Bob Naiman, we explored some remote East German corners in search of a really lovely dinner.

Above all, of course, are the people we came to know and love in East Berlin: my gratitude and affection go to Thomas Bachmann, Silke and Matthias Bugge, Annette Rauh, Grit Heiduk, Meike Bischoff, and Ines Kumanoff. This story would not exist without their stories.

The book about Berlin was drafted in Paris, where I was lucky to be surrounded by the energy and encouragement of Eleanor Naiman, Ada Naiman, and Hannah Konkel, not to mention Soushka. We all rejoiced when Thera Naiman visited. Thank you also to Yuri Slezkine and Lisa Little, who welcomed me back to Berlin on the pleasantest of research trips.

This book is dedicated to Ines, whose friendship melted the Wall.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

Copyright © 2016 by Anne Nesbet

Cover map: Geobasisdaten © GeoBasis-DE/LGB 2016, GB-D 16/16

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

First electronic edition 2016

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number pending

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