They Divided the Sky

"An ardent young socialist convinced of culture's mission to educate, Wolf wrote her first novel in 1963. Originally called "Divided Heaven", it has now been reissued as "They Divided the Sky". The difference goes deeper than the title. Luise von Flotow's faithful new rendering replaces a text that had been badly twisted by a zealous editor who was determined to suppress all straying from the party line. ... The new version introduces in English for the first time the introspective, autobiographical voice that became Wolf's signature and strength. Its fragmented points of view and flashbacks were innovative. From the start her ambition was to honour the inner voice and "bridge the contradiction between party diktat and personal truthfulness", in the words of her biographer, Jorg Magenau. This made her a revered, almost saintly figure to her East German readers; at the same time, her consistently uncertain, questioning tone put her on a collision course with the socialist leadership." The Economist 20130713