I wasn’t overly keen to join the german lit challenge that has been organized by Marcel of Lizzy’s literary life and Caroline of beauty is a sleeping cat I read a lot of germanic literature as it is one of my favourite areas of translated fiction but I m notoriously bad a challenges but I ve pulled my socks up and got the planning head on as Worzel Gummidge would have said so here is what has been read ready and what is waiting to be read –
Read
So here are books read for german lit month so far –
Homo Faber by Max Frisch – one mans life summed up whilst he is stuck in the desert .
Visitation – Jenny Erpenbeck – this was iffp shortlist was one I didn’t review at time have read since but not reviewed so will do next month a village told in fable like style .
Correction – Thomas Bernhard .Bernhard was the best post war german writer this is about a man building a cone in a woods but about more than it seems !
The wall jumper – Peter Schneider Set in time of berlin wall a journalistic style book about people who tried to cross the wall .
Jarmilla -Ernst Weiss Stefan Zweig’s best friend a love triangle in a rural town in bohemia in the 30’s
Maybe this time -Alois Hotsching tales of the unexpected ,weird going ons a very unusual short story collection .
not pictured but read
Nadirs – Herta Muller her debut collection ,family life and the horrors of communism
Robert Musil and Hans Fallada mini penguin classics from earlier this year .
To read
Auto de fe by Elias Canetti – The story of Peter Kien from the Nobel winner he was Bulgarian but wrote in german
The case of sergeant Grischa by Arnold Zweig – Classic WW1 story with a anti-war message .quote on front caught my eye from J B Priestley “the greatest novel on a war theme … from any country ” sounds great .
The pigeon by Patrick Suskind – the reclusive german writer isn’t new to me but having just read perfume this tale partly inspired by the raven by Poe sounds like a great second book to read a man driven mad by a pigeon .
A perfect waiter by Alain Claude Sulzer I thought I d read a couple Swiss novels but looked at blog and hadn’t so picked this up set in mid 1930’s about a waiter in a hotel looked like a great choice .
Well that’s it so far I hope to get to library again this month for a few more so can try to get a couple more ready have some on my shelves to either reread or not read as well .
What are you reading for german lit month ?
Have you read any of these ?
I’ve read Visitation, and loved it. In fact, I wanted to tell everyone I knew about it, and thus the seed of an idea for a book blog!
oh it is a great book and a wonder reason to start a blog ,all the best stu
Wonderful list, Stu! Your post is inspiring me to add more books to my ‘TBR’ list. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on ‘The Pigeon’. I want to read Alois Hotsching’s book. Have you read Pascal Mercier’s ‘Night Train to Lisbon’? Mercier is Swiss and this book is very beautiful.
I have read night train but have given my copy away had forgotten he weas a swiss writer as well ,a lovely book ,all the best stu
Wow, you have been busy already.
I read Visitation and didn’t like it. No, that’s not right, I liked the writing, but not the topic, so I chose to not finish.
Hotschnig is on my TBR list for Novemeber.
I loved Perfume, but haven’t read The pigeon.
A perfect waiter, isn’t that something GLBT related? I vaguely remember having heard about it.
It is glbt the perfect waiter I didn’t know when I picked it up but great to see it getting translated it is a wonderful read as well ,all the best stu
Wonderful list Stu, and wow to all the books you have already read and all those you are still planning on reading.
I have read a few but by far not all of them. I got an Arnold Zweig somewhere but not this one, I need to have a closer look, I’m still compiling a list for next year’s Literature and War Readalong. I’m alos interested in the novel by Sulzer. Sounds interesting.
Thanks a lot for participating and for the post.
yes I made a great start have a real soft spot for german lit .thr sulzer is very good finished it sunday ,all the best stu
Great list, Stu. I also look forward to November German Lit Month.
Thanks Rise ,all the best stu
I’m still umming & arhhing about this one, although have a Zweig, a herta Muller, Hans fallada, bernhard & a collection of modern German poetry, so if I can free up some time I may pop in for a visit, as I’m a big fan of the country.
look forward to what you choose I need to get some more from librayr atr end of month I m cutting thropugh them quick ,all the best stu
That’s a fair start considering we’re not even half-way through October yet! Looking forward to reading your reviews 🙂
it is tony help by fact I leave some read books unreviewed now so have a rainy day stock and most of them were germanic ,all the best stu
Wow, Stu and wow again! Puts me to shame as I’ve not started anything yet. Actually, I’m still deciding what I’m going to be reading …. so many choices ….. so little time.
yes I hit the ground running so to speak on this one all the best stu
I love the idea of challenges, but I take them too seriously and end up getting stressed about them. I prefer not to sign up for more than one or two, but enthusiasm gets the better of me. I do like checking in and reading other’s reviews.
I ussually crash and burn with challenges but have got a few already read for this which makes it easier to complete ,all the best stu
For someone not wanting to participate that is a lot of books! I look forward to seeing what you thing of them – especially The Pigeon – that sounds weird!
I wasn’t overly keen but then thought I had a number of books read and not reviewed so was going to be easy to join in ,all the best stu
I was not planning on joining in but I have a copy of The Tin Drum sitting on one of my stacks. We’ll see if I actually read it in November! You have some great titles there, I would really like to read Bernhard and the The Wall Jumper.
tin drum is great Gavin I read the other books iun the trilogy I hope to fit a grass in maybe crabwalk or diary of a snail ,all the best stu
Oh I’m awful with challenges, hope you have fun with this one. Definitely read The Pigeon, it’s one of my favorite books in German 🙂
I have and it was very good remind me of erpehbeck style a bit ,all the best stu
I keep saying I’m going to do some challenges but never actually get round to it. I’m not sure a German month is one for me though. I have read Maybe This Time, it’s a lovely little collection but takes more time to thing about it than it does to read it.
I think they’re all new to me actually, although occasionally I’ve read other books by the same authors (Bernhard for example). A great list which is well worth checking out
Thanks tom yes library did me proud a great selection of germanic lit and couple new to me ,all the best stu
Thanks, Stu, for pointing out Patrick Suskind’s book. I’ve read Perfume and loved it, so I’ll have to track a copy down.
Have you read Andrea Maria Schenkel? I read her first,The Murder Farm, and loved it. Very unusual crime told partly as a series of police reports and interviews. I’ve heard good things about Ice Cold (I suspect there might be something lost in translation, as the book’s main character is called Kalteis, which seems to have been translated literally) and Bunker, but have yet to read them.
Can’t think of any other German authors off the top of my head, but no doubt half a dozen will occur to me as soon as I hit “Post” 😉
not heard of schenkel Matt but that sounds up my street I likle epistolary style novels ,I ll see if library has it ,I m like that put me on spot my mind goes blank ,all the best stu