I Still Have a Suitcase in Berlin.

Stephen Greenhalgh is Prospect Research Analyst, Advancement Services,
University of Alberta.

I Still Have a Suitcase in Berlin is the second work of fiction from author Stephens Gerard Malone and follows close on the success of his first book, Miss Elva.

I Still Have a Suitcase in Berlin centres on the life of Michael Renner, a young man who leaves behind family in Nova Scotia to care for his ailing grandmother in Berlin. Arriving in 1932, a year before the rise of Adolf Hitler, Michael enters into his grandmother’s household and makes friends with Hélène, one of her many tenants. Hélène introduces Michael to Berlin’s decadent nightlife and the two are soon engaged, much to the dismay of Michael’s family, who quickly expose the woman as a Jew before sending her away. Michael is eventually married to another woman, Lonä, whose father oversees the auctioning of confiscated property once owned by Jews. It is following the birth of their son, Wilhelm, that Michael’s life becomes further complicated when he begins to realize his growing feelings for a young man named Jan.

Many readers will appreciate and even sympathize with Michael for his devotion to his son, Billy, and his love for Jan. Still others may be put off by Michael’s indecisiveness to leave Berlin for the safety and comfort of Canada as his marriage fails and his love for Jan remains unrequited. All the same, it is evident that Malone undertook substantial research so as to accurately portray life for the average Berliner during the 1930s and 1940s. In fact, chapters in the book are set in different years and relate events as they unfold for Michael from 1932 to 1945; the concluding epilogue is set in 1954.

I Still Have a Suitcase in Berlin is a novel rich in detail and features lasting sentiment from its protagonist.