Book set in Arolsen, Germany. Reviewed on 2019/05: https://www.instagram.com/p/BxhufclAQut/
#nobody aka #karlbaer was a member of the reformer, #humanrights #lgbtrights#womensrights intelligentsia circles in #berlin together with luminaries such as #magnushirschfeld . Much like #hirschfeld , #baer was in a lot of respects another assimilated #germanjew , politically engaged and a fervent believer in changing the #weimar republic for the benefit of all its citizens. However you won’t really find a lot of that adult years’ experience in this book. #memoirsofamansmaidenyears is mostly about his childhood and teenager years as an #intersex child having been forcefully assigned as a woman at birth and how he came to his realization on his own and decided to live his life as he saw best. #universityofpennsylvaniapress does an outstanding job at including additional information to understand the implications of his assimilated background, social awakening, living as the man he always felt he was and his subsequent #zionist inclinations which took him all the way to Palestine. It’s quite the story considering that the publication of this book took place in the early 1900s. However it’s also important to mention that Baer purposely wrote an #autobiography filled with fictional characters, places, events. It’s almost as he wanted to put on paper how much his own real life was equally plagued and made of fiction, that fictional narrative made up by others. Definitely #recommended . However do try to get this #universityofpennpress edition for a fuller grasp on the text and story. #genderqueerlit #germanliterature#berlin#AuseinesMannesMädchenjahren
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