possm reviewed Deutschland ab vom Wege by Henning Sußebach
A journalist crosses Germany on foot
4 stars
I really like travel literature so that helped. I really enjoyed this little book. What I liked best was the description of how different regions in Germany feel different to wander through. What I liked least was the aside about PoC and LGBT people being "privileged minorities" or whatever. The selling point of the book is a little absurd on the face of it: "Only 6 % of Germany is covered with asphalt or concrete, yet we only hear the perspectives of the people from there. I went outside the beaten path to hear from the rest". Like obviously 94 % of the surface doesn't mean 94 % of the population. Almost 80 % of Germany's population live in cities. The people the author met on his journey are absolutely not representative of a silent majority or anything like that. Of course, that doesn't mean their stories aren't worth hearing …
I really like travel literature so that helped. I really enjoyed this little book. What I liked best was the description of how different regions in Germany feel different to wander through. What I liked least was the aside about PoC and LGBT people being "privileged minorities" or whatever. The selling point of the book is a little absurd on the face of it: "Only 6 % of Germany is covered with asphalt or concrete, yet we only hear the perspectives of the people from there. I went outside the beaten path to hear from the rest". Like obviously 94 % of the surface doesn't mean 94 % of the population. Almost 80 % of Germany's population live in cities. The people the author met on his journey are absolutely not representative of a silent majority or anything like that. Of course, that doesn't mean their stories aren't worth hearing (which is why the book is still very enjoyable); it does mean though, that you'll have a hard time extracting some larger political point from a few conversations you had (which is why every attempt at that throughout the book is annoying and betrays the author's biases). The book is good as a travelogue though. The prose is above decent, the politics are cringe, the structure and length are just right. Very enjoyable.