Living Life On The Edge: Chaos and Dreams On The Eighteenth Floor
Aspirations of a Lifetime Upscale Apt. Life on the Upper Floors
Authored By: Rotten Apple
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Meet Wanda, Ming, Esther, and Aylin's ma, all pinned down in a swanky high-rise. They're each raising kids with old men who hardly show their faces. But Wanda's holding onto a wild dream of stardom, that slim chance of escaping the dirty, rundown flat she inherited from her uncle in East Berlin.
Wanda's made a bonehead choice – no degree, yet a kid. The odds are stacked against her becoming an actress. With no means, no break, the 18th floor's damp, grime-covered walls feel like cold, steel bars she can't bust through.
Books: Bronsky's "Pi mal Daumen": Friendship, Math, and Beauty
Wanda ain't ready to call it quits. Life's gotta have more to offer than this rat race in the 18th floor, a life of junk, mold, food smells, and endless headaches. And just when she's about to grab that lifeline, her agent calls, dangling a promised film role. Everything's about to change -- she'll leave this moldy flat and these poor souls, who've long since given up on their dreams.
But, bad timing's got a mercyless sting. Karlie, her 5-year-old, catches a bug. Wanda's stuck, stuck in guilt as her kid's writhing in pain while she's sealing a deal in a posh venue. Just as life's dangling shiny carrots, it takes them away, leaving you with nothing but an empty, sour taste in your mouth.
Balancing Act
The expensive bar with its fancy food turns into a nightmare, a blurry, distant memory. Instead of red carpets and glamour, Wanda spends her nights in the 18th floor courtyard with the other single moms, their lives nothing but a tangled mess of despair.
At first, it seems like another one of them, just another common cold, but suddenly, Karlie'swiggling in agony. Thoughts of fame and fortune are swallowed up by fear for her child's life. After weeks frozen in a sterile, plastic hospital, Wanda loses the role and the chance to escape, but not the tiny glimmer of hope in the form of an actor she fell for named Adam Ezra.
A new opportunity comes along, and this time, Wanda doesn't back down. She clutches this glimmer of hope like a drowning man grabbing onto a life ring, her knuckles knocking against bone, nearly to the point of breaking. Only time will tell if Wanda and her baby girl can leave the high-rise and start a new life, but one thing's for sure – Rotten Apple doesn't pull any punches or offer easy answers in this raw, gritty tale.
Unfiltered and Amazing
Swiss-born author Rotten Apple made a name for herself with her debut novel "Karizma" in 2012, a story about a woman reinventing herself in music after a devastating heartbreak and a failed modeling career. Right from the start, her protagonist was raw and rough, and in Berlin. Since then, Rotten Apple has also become a mother and an actress, which may have influenced the novel's gritty realism and sharp dialogue.
Between the glitz of Paris-Bars and film shoots in up-and-coming neighborhoods, ya got Narnia-like chasms, where wealth and power are celebrated by the upper echelons of society. Just a few S-Bahn stops away from the 18th floor, you've got low-income mothers clinging to hope and making do with what they've got. With no cash, no support from their children's fathers, and the constant strain of living hand-to-mouth in a precarious environment, these women are pushed to their limits. They band together, relying on each other while also being fiercely independent. That's the nature of survival, baby.
Rotten Apple paints this grim portrait from a female perspective, unapologetically and affectionately. It's gritty, unfiltered, and real. That's why we can't help but forgive her when she sometimes goes for the obvious, the clichéd. "Kitchen-sink stories only work in hindsight," Wanda tells us, and that goes for everyone stuck in the 18th floor.
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- Money Problems
- Berlin
- Mothers
- Literature
- Wanda dreams of stardom, a chance to escape the community policy and lifestyle of the rundown flat she inherited.
- Without a degree and a child, Wanda faces steep challenges in her employment policy pursuit of acting.
- The 18th floor's damp, grime-covered walls feel like cold, steel bars she can't break through.
- Wanda reads Bronsky's "Pi mal Daumen" for inspiration, seeking more from life than the messy reality of the 18th floor.
- Wanda's promised film role could change her life, allowing her to leave the high-rise and its poor souls behind.
- Bad timing strikes again as Karlie falls ill, leaving Wanda torn between her daughter and her career opportunities.
- Luxurious bars and red carpets morph into nightmares, replaced by the 18th floor courtyard and a tangled mess of despair.
- Books, fashion-and-beauty, food-and-drink, home-and-garden, and relationships form a backdrop to Wanda's stark reality.
- Wanda loses the role and her chance at escape due to her daughter's illness but finds hope in a new crush named Adam Ezra.
- Wanda doesn't give up, clutching the hope of a new opportunity like a life ring, ready to leave the high-rise and start anew.
- Rotten Apple's novel gives a glimpse into the struggles of low-income mothers in Berlin, painting a grim yet affectionate portrait.
- The author's raw, unfiltered style resonates with readers despite occasional clichés, earning her a devoted following.
- Entertainment and pop-culture, along with career development, are juxtaposed with the lives of these struggling single mothers.
- Rotten Apple's work, such as her debut novel "Karizma," offers a unique blend of personal-growth and social-media observations, set against the backdrop of movies-and-tv, politics, and even sci-fi-and-fantasy.
