Reading German Books in 2020 discussion
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I shall recommend this book until my lips fray at the edges. Yes, it is weird, yes it is odd, yes it is confusing in places, but it also captures something so quintessentially German and of its time that it is a shame that the tenor of it being a difficult book (which I don't think it is) keeps so many people from reading it.
Anything by Hans Fallada, but especially Every Man Dies Alone.
maven wrote: "Anything by Hans Fallada, but especially Every Man Dies Alone."Everman Dies Alone was so gripping. I have copies of Nightmare in Berlin and A Small Circus on my shelves, so I plan to read them this year.
Death in Venice
Perhaps the greatest novella ever written in any language. I studied it as both an undergraduate and as a grad student. I will probably reread it in 2020, which would be my 4th or 5th time reading it.
I also like The Judge and His Hangman, but I’m not sure how widely available it is in translation.
I plan to tackle Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family in 2020. I also have some Stefan Zweig on my shelf that I want to get to.
Perhaps the greatest novella ever written in any language. I studied it as both an undergraduate and as a grad student. I will probably reread it in 2020, which would be my 4th or 5th time reading it.
I also like The Judge and His Hangman, but I’m not sure how widely available it is in translation.
I plan to tackle Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family in 2020. I also have some Stefan Zweig on my shelf that I want to get to.
A couple of years back, I accidentally stumbled upon and fell in love with Veza Canetti's work. She's an author for people who love quiet books with sharp observations about people and their interactions. Her only novel Yellow Street has an English translation. It gives a wonderful view of the lives of ordinary women in early 20th century Vienna. I also loved her short story collection Geduld Bringt Rosen.
My Blue Piano
I read all of her poetry this year and she has advanced to my favourite poet before Rilke and Goethe, well worth a go.
What Remains and Other Stories
One of the most important GDR authors. Lots of her works are translated.
The History of Lady Sophia Sternheim
If you read Goethe, then you should give her a try as well. She is Goethe's contemporary and her novel is classed as the first by a German woman. It is written in the epistolary form and is also considered to be the first German Bildungsroman, a novel form us Germans are particularly fond of.
Angela wrote: "Britta wrote: "The Seventh Cross
One of the best books about Nazi-Germany."
Oh I have this one and had totally forgotten! Perfect time to pick it up in 2020! Thanks for the remi..."
Thats great!
I think I'm going to attempt The Seventh Cross.
Brown Girl Reading wrote: "I think I'm going to attempt The Seventh Cross."Thats a great choice, Didi!
Brown Girl Reading wrote: "I think I'm going to attempt The Seventh Cross."Definitely a great choice.
Melanie wrote: "What Remains and Other Stories
One of the most important GDR authors. Lots of her works are translated."
I tried Wolf in the past and couldn't get into it. I don't remember what book it was. Do you have a suggestion for a good place to start with her?
I love the two C19th Theodors - Fontane and Storm.Everything they wrote is superlative and much has been translated.
If you’re looking for something beyond the obvious titles of Effi Briest/The Rider on The White Horse, then I recommend Irretrievable (Unwiederbringlich) for Fontane and Hans and Heinz Kirch for Storm.
Homo Faber by Max Frisch
This is one of my favourite modern classics. We read it in school, almost everyone hated it. I didn't, but I think you can appreciate it even better when you're an adult.
Musil's The Man Without Qualities is next on my TBR!
One of the best novellas I have ever read is Lenz by Georg Büchner. Please don't forget him. He died so young and he was such a genius.
Rayane wrote: "Musil's The Man Without Qualities is next on my TBR!"I guess you'll be busy for a while, then... :-)
Barbara wrote: "One of the best novellas I have ever read is Lenz by Georg Büchner. Please don't forget him. He died so young and he was such a genius."Here you go :-)
Lenz by Georg Büchner
Another German modern classic author I'd like to recommend: Jakob Wassermann. "Der Fall Mauritius" oder "Caspar Hauser oder die Trägheit des Herzens". Very likely it's not easy to find a translation these days, because he's not popular anymore. But I really enjoyed his novels. Maybe time for a reread.
Barbara wrote: "Another German modern classic author I'd like to recommend: Jakob Wassermann. "Der Fall Mauritius" oder "Caspar Hauser oder die Trägheit des Herzens". Very likely it's not easy to find a translatio..."Wassermann’s My First Wife is available in English translation. Both Penguin Modern Classics and New York Review of Books have published it recently.
Britta wrote: "Barbara wrote: "One of the best novellas I have ever read is Lenz by Georg Büchner. Please don't forget him. He died so young and he was such a genius."Here you go :-)
OMG it is about an alsatian!!! This is going to my list right now.
I was browsing this section as I wanted to find books from the 19e centuries .. If anybody has other suggestions, please let me know.
Lenz by [a..."
Reading Karl May with my two boys!
Fascinating that this best-selling author (1842-1912) had never even been to the American frontier, yet his many books have inspired the imaginations of generations of readers with notions of the Wild West.
Reading German Books in 2020
Books mentioned in this topic
Lenz (other topics)My First Wife (other topics)
The German Lesson (other topics)
The Deruga Trial (other topics)
Lenz (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Siegfried Lenz (other topics)Ricarda Huch (other topics)
Georg Büchner (other topics)
Veza Canetti (other topics)
What German Classics or Modern Classics are on your TBR, the ones you are eager to get to?
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