I Have No Regrets - Diaries, 1955-1963

Frank andrefreshing,Brigitte Reimann's collected diaries provideacandidaccount oflifein socialist Germany. With an upbeat tempo andamusing tone,I Have No Regrets contains detailed accounts ofthe author'slove affairs,daily life,writing, and reflections. Like the heroines in her stories, Reimann was impetuous andoutspoken, addressing issues andsensibilitiesotherwise repressed in the era of the German Democratic Republic. Shefollowed thestate's call for artists to leave their ivory towers and engage withthe people,movingto the new town of Hoyerswerda to work part-time at a nearby industrial plant and run writing classesfor the workers. Her diaries and lettersprovide afascinatingparallel to her fictional writing.By turnsshocking, passionate,unflinching, and bitter-but above all life-affirming-theyoffer an unparalleled insight intowhat life was like during thefirstdecadesof the GDR.