Break

This book is a modern classic, finally available in English again—in a new translation—for a new generation of readers. This is a chronicle of Christiane’s life as she and other teenagers from West Berlin experienced it in the late 1970s. Her rapid descent into heroin abuse and prostitution is shocking, but the boredom, the longing for acceptance, the thrilling risks, and even the musical obsessions that fill out the rest of Christiane’s existence will be familiar to every reader. This enduring portrait of Christiane’s struggle is not just her battle with heroin addiction—it’s the story of a teenage girl trying to find herself and her place in the world. Originally published in Germany in 1979, the book was a runaway bestseller, and was made into a popular movie in 1981, also named “Christiane F.,” with a soundtrack by David Bowie, one of Christiane’s favorite musicians.