Short Stories in German, Erzählungen auf Deutsch: New Penguin Parallel Text

by Ernst Zillekens (Editor)

This new volume of eight short stories with parallel English translations offers students of German at all levels the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of contemporary literature. The majority of these stories have been written in the past decade and reflect a rich diversity of styles and themes. Complete with notes, the stories make excellent reading in either language.

Genres: German Literature, Short Stories, Fiction, Germany, Language, Anthologies

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 2003

Reviews

[Alexandru Ivasciuc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im Vergleich zu den (meisten) Teach Yourself-Ausgaben, eignen sich diese Short Stories überhaupt nicht für Anfänger. Meiner Meinung nach, muss man die Sprache schon zumindest auf B2 Niveau beherrschen, um die Texte gut zu verstehen (selbst mit der englischen Übersetzung dabei) und Nutze daraus zu ziehen. Was die Texte an sich angeht, halte ich diese Sammlung für ziemlich merkwürdig. Es mag auch sein, dass ich mit der deutschen Literatur nicht gut genug vertraut bin. Dennoch, waren die Texte, in denen die ehemalige DDR im Mittelpunkt stand, die interessantesten.

[Rubem Pimentel]

This is definitely not for a beginner. Some sort of previous reading experience in german is needed. The sentences are not so short and the structure is also not so simple. Also the stories use a lot of different tenses, so you need to know them beforehand to not get lost.

[Kelcey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading stories from other countries by writers whose names aren't already etched in canonical stone. These pieces have a quiet urgency, a cozy intimacy. And I like having the original language side-by-side with the translation. (I know almost no German, but could see how some of the sentences were restructured, and that was interesting.)

[Josephine (biblioseph) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The introduction days that these stories were chosen for their diversity, and while I detect 'looking back' and 'delusion' as themes in several of these stories, maybe even 'introspection' or 'lack of...' in all of these stories, that seems too simple.

In any case, I tolerated most of these stories, but barely. I liked Lascia once I had a minute to sit and reflect on it, I took the narrator too at her word at first, and I liked the stories that dealt with the DDR best. The one about living on a farm manor, and the one about being 'observed' by the Secret Police...

So much sadness, I don't think I have a place for these kinds of stories in my life right now...

[Sarah Esh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really sure what to say about a collection of short stories that I only bought to study up on my German skills before taking an exam that determined whether or not I would earn my master's degree, but I finally finished it! (Hah, nearly two years later!)

The collection of eight stories is meant to help students of German, but I would say this is definitely more for advanced students. I annotated the first page and then basically gave up, only reading the English translation just to finish the book. The stories are interesting, though I wonder what is lost in translation. The end notes are helpful, and I should have used them more as they would have given me more context for the stories.

If you are curious about German literature or want to study German, this is a helpful text.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good reader if your German is at least B2 level, but a bit of a waste of time if it's below that level. I originally bought this when I was about A2 level, and put it aside because it was way too hard. A good metric is that if you understand about 98% of the words in any given block of text (ie you only have to look up 2 words in every 100 on the page) then it's a good level.

Chicago/Shanty Town was by far the hardest to understand and requires at least a C1 level to understand with ease, or you can just keep looking to the English side of the page. Although some of the stories are a lot easier to understand than this one, and maybe could be read at B1.

[Peter Holz · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the idea is sound, having the German text on one page and the English translation on the page opposite, the book suffers, like so many other short story collections, from inconsistent story telling. Not only are some of the stories much better than others but the level of the language also varies widely. I struggled mightily with Chicago/Shanty Town but found Grandfather and the Decision-makers to be at about the right level for me. It was probably no coincidence that my enjoyment of the stories correlated inversely with the level of difficulty I experienced reading them.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great way to work on one's German skill - so much more interesting than boring textbooks articles. Some of the most prolific German writers' works put together with English translations of the texts to facilitate understanding of what's being read and without constantly having to turn to a dictionary.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked the last two DDR/Stasi stories. last one reminded me of 1984. The rest of the stories were so odd though and often ended very abruptly (although I know short stories often can!) I do like the dual language on either side but I do get lazy and sometimes read just English for a bit, but in general it is cool.

[Southy · Rating 3 out of 5]

None of the stories presented here really captured my imagination but one can’t deny that the format is good for learning the vocabulary and style of the German language.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Various short stories. 5/5 for the good practise it is! Read eating mussels, the good old days

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Amiila · Rating 5 out of 5]

damn

[sawyer wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich finde die Geschichten ein bisschen langweilig, aber die Übung auf Deutsch war toll und sehr erreichbar.

[Theodora · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bought it for the stories. It was interesting to see the german on the opposite page but it’s definitely for advanced learners. I didn’t like any of the stories, they were strange and aimless.

[Valeria · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me so long to finally finish reading these stories, but it was completely worth it!

[LiB · Rating 4 out of 5]

My German is worse than I thought. I was feeling pretty good about myself when I finished Tintenblut (a YA novel), but some of these stories are so difficult. Great reading with parallel text though - I painfully decrypt a few paragraphs and then read the translation to see how incredibly wrong I was.

I really recommend this to German learners. A good selection, with a lot of stylistic variation, but not impossibly literary for those struggling along with a translating dictionary.

The Listener, or a Description of a Route with a Hidden Motive SIEGFRIED LENZ
When a bore of a author turns up threateningly at a critic’s house to complain about a bad review, the critic’s wife treats him to a masterclass in passive-aggression. Probably she’d have been better telling him to *** before she called the police. German level - very difficult, as it is all about the nuance.

Waiting for the Guests DIETER WELLERSHOFFF
Neurotic woman desperately trying to convince herself that her best friend wants her to be having a secret affair with her husband behind her back. Or at least I think that’s what’s going on, the English didn’t really help me that much.

Eating Mussels (Excerpt) BIRGIT VANDERBEKE
Child’s eye view of mother’s tragic relinquishing of herself as a person.

The Good Old Days GABRIELE WOHMANN
Awful smug couple pose dreadful warning of what I and my husband could turn out to be in a few years.

Lascia JUDITH HERMANN
This one was great. If you are ever the kind of person so cowed by social embarrassment or fear of your own privilege that you have been powerless in the face of scammers, even when you know what’s going on, this story is for you as well as me. Cringe-inducing but good. Also, the German was more straightforward than the previous ones.

Chicago/ Shanty Town GEORG KLEIN
I’m not sure I got all the political references here, but I think this is about people who haven’t shaken off Nazism and racism as much as they want to think they have. I’m not sure I liked the ironic tone, it felt unpleasant to read.

Grandfather and the Decision-makers CHRISTOPH HEIN
My favourite so far ( and hopefully not just because the German was so straight forward ). Politics from a child’s eye view, but also a real feel of farming life.

The Suspect JUREK BECKER (b. 1937)
While I struggled with the German this was my favourite story in the end, as it goes a long way to explaining why the Stasi were so oppressive even to people who were not active against the regime. The protagonist almost jails themselves with futile self-policing, before realising there is nothing they can do to be innocent in the eyes of the state. Because of my translation I had to read this very slowly, which allowed the paranoia of this story more expression.

[Russio · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is never a good thing when the translator acknowledges that the collection of stories curated is not the greatest on offer and this is basically true of those in the collection. The first story is fair enough - a little trite but fine. The next is just awful - an overwrought, over-explained monologue from the point of view of a dislikable character. If I ever hear three rhetorical questions checking one's own thinking again I may shoot myself. Do I really mean that? Is that the way I think? Do I really hate the story this much? You get the idea.

Three is an excerpt for God's sake, four is as light as air and five is utterly forgettable. Six has some merit although to hear it explained by the anthologised reveals that it really is a fairly one dimensional affair. The seventh is better and has some substance, although again I would be unlikely to read it.

Only the final short story, with its Kafkaesque storyline (if not rendering)" redeems the collection. The Suspect is an East German tale of Cold War paranoia at the individual level, and is the one reason to pick up this book.

[Ugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

My probably idiotic intention is to learn German without having to make the effort to memorise new vocabulary or grammar rules. Idiocy aside, I feel like this was a good place to start, because the stories were interesting, most of the sentences were nice and short, and the translation seemed to be pretty word-for word: I've since moved on to a parallel text of some classic short stories, and the translation is much harder to follow, and the vocab obviously a lot more archaic.

[Maja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was handed this book mid mental breakdown with a green pen. First of all, who annotates in green pen? (Jake seriously??) Secondly, thank you, because actually I needed that and some of these stories have really stuck with me. So yeah.

[Boris Strandjev · Rating 3 out of 5]

The text contents are unexciting and silly. However it possesses some educational power, although the text are far from suitable or easy.

[Oscar Billing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent selection of a variety of difficulty levels. Generally does what it says on the cover.