A review by misterintensity
Black Deutschland by Darryl Pinckney

4.0

Newly sober Jed, a gay African American man from Chicago, decides to make a go at living in West Berlin in the years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He always saw West Berlin as the place where he could fully be himself, however he quickly realizes that he has to learn to live without the fog of alcohol and drugs. Black Deutschland is not so much about recovery as it is a book that explores the nature of identity, belonging, and family. Although relatively short, author Darryl Pinckney packs a lot into the novel. As we look at the lives of Jed, his cousin Cello, and their family and coworkers, readers are confronted with the lies these characters tell themselves in order to function. The time and location shifts could be jarring at times as we switch from different periods of the characters' lives but it adds to the tapestry of Pickney's tale.