Book cover of Other People's Clothes

Book description

'Full of delicious layers . . . I felt drunk reading it.' Emma Jane Unsworth

Intoxicating, compulsive and blackly funny, Other People's Clothes is the thrilling debut novel from Berlin-based American artist Calla Henkel.

2009. Berlin.

Two art students arrive from New York, both desperate for the city to solve…

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Why read it?

3 authors picked Other People's Clothes as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

It’s been a while since I have read a book that I not only didn’t want to put down, but I wanted to speed through!

Ah, to be a young art student in Berlin in 2008 (or probably not!) It has it all: love triangles, murder mysteries, doppelgängers, crazy parties, and a lot of paranoia against a backdrop of the art of fashion.

Twisted and ingeniously plotted, it got me hooked until the very last word.

Other People’s Clothes isn’t exactly a fashion book but it’s so stylish that it deserves a place on my list.

Two American girls in Berlin find themselves deeply embedded in a massive party scene and a murder mystery. All the while there is incredible clothing and weird costumes. It reads like you’re in the scene with them, trying on strange hats and jackets, staying out late, and spinning out of control. 

From Alyssa's list on The best books about style.

On a very different note, this recent novel about unwise behaviour amused me. It’s well-written, sparky, and I enjoyed it a lot more than Who Killed Maud Dixon?, which covers similar territory. None of the relationships here are really to be envied. I enjoy reading novels by younger women with a very different take on the world, and this one keeps the reader guessing.

If you love Other People's Clothes...

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December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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