Since finishing
uni, my book consumption has dropped dramatically. Reading has always been a
bit of an escape for me, something I do instead of doing what I’m meant to be
doing, something that lets me escape the word around me and lose myself for a
couple of thousand words, spend time with people I’d otherwise never have the
opportunity to meet. Very rarely do I go anywhere without a book, even if it is
just to feel the weight of words in my bag.
Berlin Syndrome by Melanie Joosten was one of this
year’s Sydney
Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist awardees, and is essentially, the
story of two people – Clare and Andi – and their struggle of co-dependency,
seen through the Stockholm Syndrome. Cleverly appropriating the Stockholm
syndrome (from which the book is titled), we slowly see Clare and Andi’s world
collapse in upon itself, their needs and want destroying the beautiful
obsession which brought them together in the first place.
