''Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee'' (On the Shorter End of Sun Avenue) is the third novel by author

Thomas Brussig Thomas Brussig (born 1964) is a German writer best known for his satirical novels that deal with the German Democratic Republic. Life Brussig was born in East Berlin. After attending the "Heinrich-Hertz" School, he went on to train as a buil ...

. The novel is set in East Berlin in the real-life street of

Sonnenallee ''Sonnenallee'' (''Sun Avenue'' or ''Sun Alley'') is a 1999 German comedy film about life in East Berlin in the late 1970s. The movie was directed by Leander Haußmann. The film was released shortly before the corresponding novel, ''Am kürzere ...

sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s. The film ''

'', also written by Brussig, is based upon the same characters, but depicts a significantly different storyline. Unusual is the fact that the screenplay for ''

'' served as the basis for the novel, rather than the other way around.

Themes of the Novel

The story is centered on the main character fifteen-year-old Michael "Micha" Kuppisch who lives with his parents and siblings, Sabine and Bernd, in a typical East Berlin flat. The story gives a nostalgic yet ironic outlook of living in the shorter end of Sonnenallee, a street which was divided during the creation of the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

, next to the Berlin Wall where the

house numbering House numbering is the system of giving a unique number to each building in a street or area, with the intention of making it easier to locate a particular building. The house number is often part of a postal address. The term describes the num ...

is comically told to start at number 379. Much of the story is based around Micha's love for the girl Miriam, another Sonnenallee resident, and the day-to-day lives of Micha and his friends. Another prominent character is Uncle Heinz, Micha's uncle from West Berlin. The character shows how many living in West Berlin had a tainted, sympathetic and often condescending view on life on the other side of the wall. Uncle Heinz often smuggles small gifts for the Kuppisch family on his trips, despite the fact that everything he "smuggles" is, in fact, legal to bring into the GDR. Throughout the story there is much focus on low-level rebellion by Micha and his friends, such as Wuschel's desire to listen to illegal music such as the Rolling Stones.

References

1999 German novels German historical novels Novels set in Berlin German comedy novels {{1990s-comedy-novel-stub