The novel "Tunnel" by Magdalena Parys is my first literary encounter with this author and her work. This book spins a story about young people in postwar Germany who are faced with a difficult choice. One of the characters, Klaus, was murdered in unexplained circumstances. In the 1980s a tunnel was dug which enabled Franz's escape from East Berlin to West Berlin. The whole story is narrated by the young people who were involved in the escape. At the beginning, the successive stories come across as unattached. In the course of time it turns out that they are relating the same thing and the elements fit together like the pieces of a puzzle. "Tunnel" is a story about unfulfilled love, family dramas, and the titular tunnel is a symbol of change and hope for a better future.

There are not many books which I mothball after getting only halfway through. This book tried to defeat me several times but I kept giving it a chance, hoping that further pages would change something. I finished the book. Unfortunately, I have to say that despite the enthusiastic reviews I found in the Internet, I didn't like either the content or the style of narration.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't have a go at "Tunnel". Every book, even those which don't suit our taste, enriches us and allows us to find our own view on the given topic. What I miss most in this book is a touch of humour. I know that difficult days don't lend themselves to banter but this book is grey and sad like East Berlin before the fall of the Berlin Wall.