Book cover of The Undercurrents: A Story of Berlin

Book description

Humane, thought provoking, and moving, this hybrid literary portrait of a place makes the case for radical close readings: of ourselves, our cities, and our histories.

The Undercurrents is a dazzling work of biography, memoir, and cultural criticism told from a precise vantage point: a stately nineteenth-century house on Berlin’s…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Undercurrents as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Prepare yourself for a thrilling and idiosyncratic ride where a pool of water on Bell’s kitchen floor leads her to investigate Berlin’s “swampy” past while also trying to make a home for herself and her sons after a divorce. 

Bell, an Anglo-American art critic and author, shows us how to find undercurrents hidden below the surface in both history and our own lives and how to put the pieces together in meaningful if fragmented, new patterns.

I agree with the New York Times review that we are “mysteriously changed - enriched - by the journey she has invited us to…

If you love The Undercurrents...

Ad

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Want books like The Undercurrents?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Undercurrents.

Browse books like The Undercurrents

Book cover of Monument Wars: Washington, D.C.,  the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape
Book cover of House
Book cover of East London: Sketches of Christian Work and Workers

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,210

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like The Undercurrents, you might also like...

Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of Lane and the Inventor

Lane and the Inventor by Amy Q. Barker,

A grumpy-sunshine, slow-burn, sweet-and-steamy romance set in wild and beautiful small-town Colorado. Lane Gravers is a wanderer, adventurer, yoga instructor, and social butterfly when she meets reserved, quiet, pensive Logan Hickory, a loner inventor with a painful past.

Dive into this small-town, steamy romance between two opposites who find love…

5 book lists we think you will like!