THE UNDERCURRENTS vividly brings Berlin history to the present

Well-written works of history are often described as being able to bring history to life as if the past is dead, but with her extraordinary new book, The Undercurrents, Kirsty Bell brilliantly shows us that not only is history all around us, but it is also something that we actively live alongside and are continuously becoming part of.

The book begins with Bell living in a flood-strewn apartment overlooking the rather rundown Landwehr Canal in Berlin. When her husband leaves her, Bell begins to see her struggles symbolised in the skewed infrastructure and story of the building she lives in, and in the haunted city, she can see through the window of her apartment. From the vantage point of that window, along with extensive reading and exploration of the city’s streets, Bell takes us on an enthralling tour of Berlin’s recent history – from the start of the 20th century, through the war years and their aftermath, to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

As well as breaking down barriers between the past and present, Bell also breaks down barriers between forms; a hybrid of memoir, history, and literary exploration, The Undercurrents defies easy, fixed definition, the same way that history does.