The latest addition to my website is Karen Duve‘s Dies ist kein Liebeslied (This is Not a Love Song). The title comes from a song by John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten’s post-Sex Pistols band, Public Image Ltd. It is narrated by a German woman, Anne Strelau, who is depressive, frequently overweight and does not fit in with her peers, her family or the various boyfriends she has. We first meet her on a plane from Hamburg, where she lives to London where she hopes to meet up with a former boyfriend but we then follow her fairly miserable life, albeit told with dark humour, as she struggles with life, love and family, concluding why couldn’t I finally accept that I was useless, totally useless, a complete idiot. Attempted suicide, running away, various dead-end jobs and a messy sex life are her story.