Petrowskaja, Katja, Vielleicht Esther (Berlin: Suhrkamp, 2014)

Petrowskaja’s novel is a highly accessible exploration of the dynamics of cultural memory. The text’s autobiographical narrator traces the history of her Jewish family in Eastern Europe, reflecting particularly on the 1941 Babi Yar Massacre and its legacy in personal and collective forms of memory. The narrator portrays Petrowskaja’s own encounters with historical archives and the power that institutions hold over the construction and transmission of collective memory, as well as the emerging role of technology in the process of remembering. Vielleicht Esther is a fantastic text for exploring issues such as experiences of the Holocaust outside of Germany, the relationship between individual and collective forms of memory, and the power dynamics involved in producing and transmitting narratives about the past.