let me just say, i read the book twice and now watched the movie. The Film is pretty well made and delivers a lot of emotions and atmosphere, but they had to skip so much content for runtime sake which made the movie a lot less good than it have could been. In conclusion: Read the book!
I Am Jack's Complete Lack of Surprise
I agree, the book has much more detail. It is apprently hard to get now, at least in English: it is a pity there is no new edition, with added what-happened-after section. It is not an alltogether happy story, though apparently Vera Christiane Felscherinow is still alive, unlike what someone told me.
shareI'd love to read the book but it'd have to be in English and copies of that are rare and expensive and thirty years old. I've no idea why it's out of print in the UK. High prices even for tatty old paperback versions suggests there's a demand.
shareTypical ... whenever I want to see or read something that sounds intruging, its out of print/rare and costs a small fortune to get my hands on. Argh, how annoying!
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I believe that it is being re-released soon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zoo-Station-The-Story-Christiane/dp/1936976226 /ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333888673&sr=1-1
Or you could buy this copy second hand like I did: http://www.amazon.co.uk/H-Autobiography-Prostitute-Heroin-Addict/dp/05 52117722/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_img_in.
It seems like the second hand ones that are currently available are quite expensive. When I got mine I must have struck lucky with my timing because I think it only cost about £10 or so.
I am not sure when the re-released one is actually being released
It was rereleased as Zoo Station and I am getting it from my local library tomorrow.
Update: I just finished the book. It is so detailed that it makes the movie look like just an excerpt or summary of the book. If you want background information, definitely read the book.
Also, they did sensationalize the movie, obviously, for dramatic effect. Some things in the movie are not in the book. They focused on the shooting up and the prostitution, and didn't show her childhood or really explain the relationship with her parents. The movie makes it seem like her parents just didn't care, but the book includes sections written by her mother which make it clear that she did care. And they did not go into all her attempts to kick the heroin - there were many stints in rehabs and hospitals and even Scientology. It ends when she is still young but going with a better crowd of kids and reading philosophy. She's still alive and in her fifties now and she wrote a second book recently, which has not been translated into English yet.
This book was in the youth section of my local library. It's marketed toward teens. But it is the same book as Wir Kinder Vom Bahnhof Zoo. It's a new translation from a new publisher.
In Christiane F.'s book it is very obvious that she is a bright individual with standards. She did not expect to get hooked on heroin. The standards remained with her throughout her life. She was almost Victorian in her attitudes and refused to "sleep with" boys until she was ready. Even with her boyfriend Detlef they only slept back to back for a long time. It is this "heroin addict and prostitute at age 13 with the soul of the girl next door" which makes this story compelling. Despite the movie's posters constantly calling her a 13 year old prostitute, she refused to be touched by these men and would do as little as humanly possible to be paid. Thus it was a misnomer to say she "sold her body." No one touched her body.
Hal_Nine_Thousand Sun Apr 8 2012 05:44:52
I believe that it is being re-released soon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zoo-Station-The-Story-Christiane/dp/1936976226 /ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333888673&sr=1-1
Or you could buy this copy second hand like I did: http://www.amazon.co.uk/H-Autobiography-Prostitute-Heroin-Addict/dp/05 52117722/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_img_in.
It seems like the second hand ones that are currently available are quite expensive. When I got mine I must have struck lucky with my timing because I think it only cost about £10 or so.
I am not sure when the re-released one is actually being released
suze-4 Tue Feb 2 2016 02:01:24
Post Edited: Sat Feb 6 2016 22:39:29
It was rereleased as Zoo Station and I am getting it from my local library tomorrow.
Update: I just finished the book. It is so detailed that it makes the movie look like just an excerpt or summary of the book. If you want background information, definitely read the book.
Also, they did sensationalize the movie, obviously, for dramatic effect. Some things in the movie are not in the book. They focused on the shooting up and the prostitution, and didn't show her childhood or really explain the relationship with her parents. The movie makes it seem like her parents just didn't care, but the book includes sections written by her mother which make it clear that she did care. And they did not go into all her attempts to kick the heroin - there were many stints in rehabs and hospitals and even Scientology. It ends when she is still young but going with a better crowd of kids and reading philosophy. She's still alive and in her fifties now and she wrote a second book recently, which has not been translated into English yet.
This book was in the youth section of my local library. It's marketed toward teens. But it is the same book as Wir Kinder Vom Bahnhof Zoo. It's a new translation from a new publisher.
In Christiane F.'s book it is very obvious that she is a bright individual with standards. She did not expect to get hooked on heroin. The standards remained with her throughout her life. She was almost Victorian in her attitudes and refused to "sleep with" boys until she was ready. Even with her boyfriend Detlef they only slept back to back for a long time. It is this "heroin addict and prostitute at age 13 with the soul of the girl next door" which makes this story compelling. Despite the movie's posters constantly calling her a 13 year old prostitute, she refused to be touched by these men and would do as little as humanly possible to be paid. Thus it was a misnomer to say she "sold her body." No one touched her body.