Sister Europe
By Nell Zink

I really love a story about traipsing around a location I am familiar with, and stories set in Berlin are of particular interest to me. And then along comes this weirdo.

Set in a small triangle that takes in the western corner of the Tiergarten, and set over the course of a single evening, this is a mini oddball adventure that introduces us to some of the most improbable companions you could put together.

From a Saudi prince to a teenage trans girl, her father and his friend, his date "the flake", an heiress and her dog, the party, tailed by Klaus (who is convinced that the teenager is a trafficked prostitute), are the last stragglers from a literary award ceremony in the Intercontinental. Following a boring and hungry slog, they set out together in search of Burger King and the quest begins.

I don't know what I was expecting, but I couldn't put this book down. Each character's story is so compelling. Their perspectives and their dialogue and their topics of conversation create a hugely engaging narrative. There is a sense of unpredictability throughout as alliances are forged through age, class, culture, moral commonalities and opposite attractions weave in and out of the party dynamics. As interesting as they all are, the star of the show is Berlin itself.

As I finished the book, I felt a bit disappointed that my anticipation wasn't truly satisfied. I felt rather like the "morning after the night before" where all the glitz had worn off and what had drunkenly felt like the time of my life was now just a hangover to be dealt with. I wondered what the point was.

But as I'm writing this, I'm getting flashbacks to the night before that bring back the connections I feel like I made, especially with Nicole and Avianca. I have only just realised now what Nell Zink was doing. This is a mini Odyssey. And now I can't stop smiling whenever I think about it.

Publication date: 24th April 2025
Thanks to #Netgalley and #penguingeneral #vikingbooks for providing an eGalley for review purposes

Extremely well-written and vivid imagery. Nell Zink has such a grip on the craft of storytelling that I'm truly impressed she could fit so much into this little amount of pages. I also really like how the chapters almost act as their own short stories, but with small connections running through it. The only reason why it's not a five star read for me is because I had to put it down a few times to properly take in all the information jam-packed into the story. I don't know if it was just my brain at the time, or if other people have felt this as well, but I definitely would not have been able to read it all in one sitting.

I struggled with this one. It sounded great but for me it ended up falling flat with the execution and pace rather messy. I also felt like there was very little character development, and rather flat and dull characters overall. Sorry, just not for me!!

Sister Europe by Nell Zink is a sharp novel that explores the complexities of the state of Europe. Zink’s writing style is distinctive, balancing wit and intellect. We see the intricate layers of European society, relationships, and the shadows of the characters too.

One of the standout features of Sister Europe is Zink’s ability to weave cultural and political themes into the personal narratives of her characters, with a particular focus on disillusionment. She critiques the notion of belonging and what it means to be an outsider in a world increasingly divided by borders and ideologies. Her examination of the ways in which European history and American idealism intersect is fascinating, and Zink has a knack for making big ideas accessible.

The set piece of the awards night worked well for humour, although I would have liked things to be a bit more unhinged as in her previous novels!. Zink doesn’t shy away from depicting the messiness of life, embracing the imperfections of her characters rather than trying to craft neat resolutions.

Though the narrative is not always straightforward, and at times feels fragmented, and reflects the uncertainty and confusion that the characters themselves experience given they’re quite an unreliable/unlikeable bunch. Some readers might find this structure a bit disorienting, but others will appreciate its reflection of the emotional and intellectual turmoil that the book addresses. She’s at her best when she skilfully blends intellectual engagement with emotional insight.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up. Thanks to @PenguinUKBooks, @VikingBooksUK and NetGalley for the ARC (my first 🥲).

This is a quick and mostly inconsequential read; and honestly for the first 100 pages I really questioned the entire point of it. But then an analogy to Seinfeld crossed my mind, and I started to enjoy it much more. It’s really about insufferable people who have this one strange night together and you know what, nothing really happens at all, but it’s sort of funny, and at least you can tell that the author thinks each character is a useful idiot. Whereas some books with insufferable people, the author seems to look up to the character or at least view them with a childlike awe. But clearly Zink thinks all these characters are somewhat stupid but also revealing of some human impulse.

I especially liked Klaus’s conclusion, quite on the nose indeed.

Having been a fan of Zink’s ‘The Wallcreeper’ and ‘Mislaid’, I was very excited to get my teeth into ‘Sister Europe’. However, this novel feels like a big change in Zink’s voice, and I’m unsure as to whether I like it. There are glimmers of Christopher Isherwood and F. Scott Fitzgerald here, which I believe to be reminiscent of the ‘roaring 20s’ novel, but this time in the modern age. 

An evening’s romp across Berlin with a quirky cast of characters has the promise of being a dazzling, raucous ride, but I finished the book feeling disappointed. Not one of the characters felt fully formed to me; feeling instead like caricatures or archetypal representations of themselves: the Bureaucrat, the Waif, the Playboy, the Maneater. I’m unsure as to whether this was intentional. There was a feeling of being held at arm’s length throughout the whole thing, and, sadly, I wasn’t made to like the characters enough to care about the meandering plot.

There are glimmers of excellent writing here, and some peeps of Zink’s voice that I’m used to, but Sister Eurpope feels like it perhaps needed a bit more exploration.

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Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first arc read! I did like the writing style, and as it was my first time reading a piece from Zink, I was impressed and did enjoy the pacing of the novel. With that said there were a few phrases and themes that felt unnecessary and ultimately detracted from me from story. Out of the seven characters, only about two showed real development, while the others didn’t feel as fleshed out. I did find the last 3-4 chapters the most enjoyable with all the characters and provided closure. That said, I’d still be interested in reading another book by Zink to see a more rounded view of her talent. Also, I absolutely love the cover

The main character of this book is Berlin.
No, it is Europe.
It is certainly our human flaws; pretentiousness, lack of clear communication.
I think I missed something about this book. I found it amusing but without a clear plot, I felt a bit directionless.
3.5 stars.

I have a lot of time for Nell Zink's novels - Doxology in particular was a frequently hilarious reckoning with the state of the USA - but Sister Europe does not quite live up to its predecessors in my view. Set during what the publisher calls a "wild night in Berlin", it's amusing enough in places, but not really as wild as it needs to be or as unhinged as we've come to expect from Zink's previous books. At the end, I was left wondering what it had really all been about. As a portrait of high life and society in Berlin, it seems too imprecise in its setting. As a satire of literary pretension, it's a bit obvious. As a state of Europe novel, it's rather too scattergun in approach. Worth reading if you've enjoyed Zink's previous work, but probably not the place to start if you are new to her writing.

This one just wasn't for me, unfortunately. It sounded great from the synopsis, but I just wasn't a fan of the execution, with its minimal dialogue. I've discovered that I need it to keep a steady pace and keep me interested.

1.5