Dead alive

"Dead Alive" said Der Spiegel magazine, "illuminates an entire epoch of our emotional history." The place is West Germany. The time is that explosive moment in the 1970's when the european left moved from theoretical revolution to bobs and terrorism. The voice is distinct and special: tough, angry, amused, questing. The story centers about the life and loves of a young lawyer who becomes enmeshed in left-wing causes. It is told by his wife during the twelve days between his death and his burial, as she searches out the facts and secrets of his existence. With loving intensity she explores the people who speak for various shades of contemporary politics, from the revolutionaries and misfits to his traditional Catholic background. It is also a story of love and loss that breathes honesty and passion.