Thomas Brussig (b. 1965) is one of Germany's most famous writers. Brussig was born in East Berlin. After graduating from school, he worked as a loader in a furniture store, a caretaker in a museum, and a hotel receptionist. After the reunification of Germany, he entered university and studied sociology and drama. His first novel, “Heroes Like Us” (1995), brought him worldwide fame. Brussig's second book, the story "Sunny Alley" (1999), brilliantly confirmed the author's reputation as an inventive, witty storyteller. For her, the writer was awarded the prestigious prize named after. Hans Fallada. The heroes of the story, four unlucky friends and a charming girl with whom they are all in love, languish behind the Berlin Wall, occasionally looking beyond it into the big free world. They secretly listen to the forbidden songs of their idols “Rolling Stones”, dream of real jeans and master the basics of the fashionable philosophy of existentialism.