Just finishing up after two days in Berlin. Took the overnight train here from Brussels on Tuesday night and found myself sharing a carriage with young Indian film maker Heeraz Marfatia and friend. Train was delayed so got here only in time to change clothes in my colleague’s hotel room before an exhausting series of meetings. Saw an old friend in the German Foreign Ministry, now doing bilateral German-US relations which of course are at a very low point right now. Quizzed my colleague in great depth about Mormonism over dinner, and finished Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s “Pashazade” – and I was not disappointed.
Today we went to the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie. The transformation of the surrounding area into a business district is quite amazing. Thirteen years on, however, the museum is still adapting to the change. The propaganda against the DDR (justifiable, of course, for the most part) shows some signs of becoming a bit more reflexive and reflective. I was not quite convinced by the exhibition on non-violent protest and passive resistance which included the Romanian revolution, which last time I checked had involved a certain amount of violence. But what was described as the most valuable exhibit was the actual strip of tarmac on which the white line indicating the border had been painted. Quite unimaginable the first time I came here in 1986.
The Nebula shortlist is out at last. For the novels, a far better selection than last year. Hugo-winner American Gods, by Neil Gaiman; the well-reviewed Bones of the Earth, by Michael Swanwick, and The Other Wind, by Ursula Le Guin which should be waiting for me when I get home; the excellent Perdido Street Station, by China Miéville; and two I haven’t heard of, Picoverse, by Robert A. Metzger and Solitaire, by Kelley Eskridge. I know that Eskridge is the partner of Nicola Griffith, whose Slow River won a Nebula some years back. Five overlaps with last year’s Hugo shortlist in the short fiction categories, including the winners of Novelette and Short Story, Chiang’s superb “Hell is the Absence of God” and Swanwick’s amusing “The Dog Said Bow-Wow”. There may be hope for the Nebulas yet, but we will see who wins…
Thank you for the lovely photos and good wishes. I do indeed celebrate this amazing day, and I wish you and your family a year of peace, joy and new adventures.
Martha