Berlin

A Novel

By: Bea Setton

Narrated by: Ell Potter

A New York Times Editor’s Choice

“Cinematic and confessional—electric.” —The New York Times

“Written in funny, punchy vignettes perfect for consumption between U-Bahn stops, and a few hours in the presence of Daphne Ferber pay generous spiritual dividends.” —The Washington Post

“A compelling, raw, and thrillingly strange outsider tale of loneliness and deception. Setton is a wonderful writer who, with this sharp debut, adds to the great canon of contemporary anti-heroines.” —Mona Awad, author of Bunny

A wickedly insightful, darkly funny novel in which a young woman in the grip of an existential malaise moves to a new city for a fresh start but her attempt at reinvention doesn’t quite go to plan

When Daphne arrives in Berlin, the last thing she expects is to run into more drama than she left behind. Of course, she knew she'd need to do the usual: make friends, acquire lovers, grapple with German and a whole new way of life. She even expected the long nights gorging alone on family-sized jars of Nutella, and the pitfalls of online dating in another language. The paranoia, the second-guessing of her every choice, the covert behaviors? Probably come with the territory.

But one night, when Daphne is alone in her apartment, something strange, unnerving and entirely unexpected intervenes, and life in bohemian Kreuzberg suddenly doesn't seem so cool. Just how much trouble is Daphne in, and who—or what—is out to get her?

Channelling the modern female experience with razor-sharp observation and a trenchant wit, Berlin announces Bea Setton as an electrifying new voice for her generation.

©2023 Bea Setton (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Cinematic and confessional. . . Berlin is a Woolfian mirror: Red herrings and cliffhangers stoke interest by conforming to expectations, until the novel undercuts them with digressions and anticlimaxes, reveling in its own formal impunity. . . electric. . . funny and unsettling.” –The New York Times

“Highly entertaining. . . In the course of this witty and unsettling romp, Setton locates the humor and pathos in personal crisis while nimbly sidestepping the perils of the coming-of-age travelogue. Bereft of the earnestness characteristic of many Bildungsromans, Berlin manages to be both light social comedy and dark psychological study. . . Daphne is a fabulous comic creation. . . It’s written in funny, punchy vignettes perfect for consumption between U-Bahn stops, and a few hours in the presence of Daphne Ferber pay generous spiritual dividends.” –The Washington Post

“A moving and rollicking tale of self-delusion. . . Setton proves herself a masterful and hilarious chronicler of contemporary life. . . Well-plotted while still capturing the meandering feeling of Daphne’s unbound life, and with deliciously handled foreshadowing, Setton’s sharp novel of stunted plans is compulsively readable and ultimately devastating. This isn’t one to miss.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Cinematic and suspenseful

I’ve easily listened this 4-5 times now. The storytelling of the author is subperb. I cannot wait for the next book by this writer.

I loved the narrator too. She was incredible at doing all the different accents. I felt like I was watching a movie.

A modern day Bell Jar!!

I loved this book - very relatable, clever, and intriguing. It’s reminiscent of a modern day Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Elle Potter is a master at reading this!!

This acerbic witty novel is a fun listen about a very quirky English woman who lies to those she wants to impress most and those she cares about. Elle Potter has the PERFECT tongue-in-cheek attitude to portray this main character.

Disturbing and insightful

I was immediately seduced by the author’s dexterity with language. As she unfolded, I became more intrigued. The performance was, in my estimation, excellent.

Perceptive

The author is deeply perceptive from a
psychological viewpoint. Excellent. However the “performer” clearly suffered from a cold of some sort and the nasal congestion of her voice was really irritating. I felt cheated by Audible for not warning about this problem.