by Mandy Berman
Thank you to my former professor Dr. Robert Battisini, who generously allowed me to pluck readings and themes from his Love, Lust, and Loss syllabus for the purposes of this novel.
Thank you to my Berlin people. All of you live in this novel in ways obvious and not. I’m especially grateful to Jacob Schickler and Moritz Estermann, for their hospitality and wisdom; David Levitz, for the apartment in Neukölln; and Greg Bryda and Bora Sirin, for the fun.
Thank you to Ben and Nicole Daniel, for the trip to Paris and the apartment in the Marais, without which I could not have written the neighborhood so clearly; and to Ellie Hunzinger, for Montmartre after: My love for you and my love for France will always be intertwined.
Thank you to Katie Abbondanza, an all-time great reader, editor, accountability partner, and friend. Thank you, Julia Bosson, for conversations about Berlin in New York, for help on the Simone chapters, and for telling me to cut Oliver’s POV. Thank you to Kea Krause and Lauren Pagano for reading early drafts of this novel and being nonetheless kind about them. And thanks to the loved ones who helped me to understand subjects about which I was clueless: my dad, Tony Berman, for teaching me about life in finance in 2008; my dear friend Dr. Lauren Covington, for explaining the medical complexities of premature births; and Lauren Pagano and my brother, Sam Berman, for legal nuances and terminology.
For the space and time to write, I’m grateful to the Brooklyn Writers Space, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, The Wing, and the Wellspring House.
Thank you to Fiona Apple and Monica Lewinksy, patron saints of this novel.
Forever, for all things, thank you to Mom, Dad (again), Sam (again), Mimi, Kelsey, Laura, and Lauren (again).
I happen to live with an unofficial Holocaust scholar, a sharp critical reader, and the kindest person I know. Zachary Solomon: Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you and I like you.
BY MANDY BERMAN
The Learning Curve
Perennials
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MANDY BERMAN is the author of Perennials and The Learning Curve. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, Time, and Poets & Writers. She teaches creative writing at Montclair State University and Manhattanville College, and lives in Brooklyn.
mandyberman.com
Twitter: @mandyberman
Instagram: @mandykate
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