Stasiland

Arriving home from work, Funder finds her landlord, Julia, watering the plants for her. Julia warns Funder about the drunks in the park across the street, one of whom, she claims, climbed a tree and stole a tape recorder from this apartment. Julia tells Funder that the drunks in the park can probably sense she’s foreign, as she doesn’t look German. Funder is surprised at this claim, and wonders how people have such a different view of themselves, compared to how others may perceive them.

Julia talks about an Italian boyfriend but is resistant to talking about how she broke things off with him in Hungary and ended up at a police station, which only makes Funder more interested: “I’m curious about her: a single woman in a single room at the top of her block, unable to go forward into her future” (94-95).

Julia finally tells of her experience growing up in East Germany, during which she acknowledged some harsh realities of the regime and blinded herself to others. She initially wanted to be a linguist. Her father joined the Stasi Party. Funder notes that she seems somewhat nostalgic for the old days of East Germany.