Nicholas Shakespeare, Snowleg

Nicholas Shakesepearae has produced a taut story of the years of transition as the two Germanys became one. At 16 years of age, Peter Hithersay is told by his mother that his "father" is not his biological father. Rather, he is the son of a German with whom his mother had a brief affair while in Germany as a member of a chorus. This revelation begins a 25 year passage through life as Peter seeks to find the truth about his father. This search leads him to Germany where he studies to become a doctor. While in East Germany as part of a traveling mime company, he meets a young woman whom he calls Snowleg. In addition to being a complex, fascinating story of a search, the book is an insightful presentation of life before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Peter is caught up in the tensions that love and politics involve. Shakespeare's rendering of the story is memorable.