I was quite excited when I discovered that Caroline from Beauty is a Cat and Lizzy from Lizzy’s Literary Life were hosting German Literature Month during November. I was excited because I love German literature and this seemed to be the perfect reason to read German literature for a whole month J You can find the homepage of this challenge with introductory posts, information on readalongs and giveaways, the list of participants and potential books that will be read, here.
I had a lot of fun trying to make a list of German books that I wanted to read. Here is what I came up with.
Week 1 : German Literature
German Literature : A very short introduction by Nicholas Boyle – I thought I will start the German literature month by reading a VSI on it J
Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada – I have the British edition of this book, which has the unfortunate title ‘Alone in Berlin’ – a poor imitation of the original title. I am extremely annoyed at the title change (Publishers, please leave the title alone!) but I am relieved that the book is the same. I first heard of this book, through my dear friend M—–l from Outgoing Signals, who said that this was one of his alltime favourite books. I can’t wait to read it.
The Pigeon by Patrick Süskind – I read Patrick Süskind’s ‘Perfume’ sometime back and I loved it for Suskind’s beautiful prose and the way he evokes the senses. I can’t wait to read this novella of his.
Homecoming by Bernhard Schlink – I have seen the movie version of Schlink’s ‘The Reader’ and liked it very much. I have his novel ‘Homecoming’ which also seems to bet set during the Second World War. I want to find out how it is.
Week 2 : Crime Fiction
Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann – This is a murder mystery where sheep play the role of detectives. I have been having this book on my shelf now for three years and I have been waiting for the right time to read it. I think the right time has now arrived J
Week 3 : Austria and Switzerland
The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse – I have wanted to read this Hesse book for years. Some of my friends who are Hesse connoisseurs rate this as his best novel. Hesse is one of my favourite authors (I loved both ‘Siddhartha’ and ‘Narcissus and Goldmund’) and so I can’t wait to find out what I think about this book. I don’t know whether Hesse is considered a Swiss writer – Wikipedia says that he is German-Swiss.
Week 4 : Kleist and other German Classics
The Marquise of O- by Heinrich von Kleist – I have been hearing a lot about this novella for a while now and I read a short review of it in Francine Prose’s book ‘Reading Like a Writer’ and liked the review very much. I can’t wait to read this novella.
Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – I have read von Goethe’s ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther’ and I loved it. It is a beautiful, sad story. I have wanted to read ‘Faust’ since then. It will be too ambitious to try to read it within a week, but I hope to read a chapter or two to get a flavour of Goethe’s beautiful poetry.
Week 5 : Read as you please and wrap up
There are a few other books that I would like to try to squeeze in during this week (or during previous weeks). The books that I am thinking of, are :
- The Death of Virgil by Hermann Broch
- Billiards at Half-Past Nine by Heinrich Böll
- The Sandman by ETA Hoffmann
- The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
- Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
I can’t wait for November to start J
Are you joining the German Literature Month reading festival? What do you think about the above books? Have you read some of them?
some wonderful choices ,I m waiting to see what my library has in stock ,all the best stu
Thanks Stu 🙂 Hope you have fun in November! Can’t wait to read your thoughts on your favourite German books!
What a wonderful list, Vishy and thanks for the link and for participating, of course. I’ve read other books by Süskind and Schlink and liked them a lot.
I also bought Every Man Dies Alone but I will not make it, it’s far too long. I read Little Man, What Now? by Fallada and he is a great writer. Before Every Man Dies Alone was discovered in the UK nobody in Germany was reading Fallada anymore, now the book has been reissued in an unabridge version.
Leonie Swann is a huge success in Germany but I have not read her. It does sound fun, though.
Hesse… I love him. Is he Swiss? That depends on the definition. He is German but moved to Switzerland and got a Swiss passport. I guess that counts. Dürrenmatt is Swiss.
The Marquise of O and Faust are wonderful. I also like your week 5 choices. German literature is rich in fantasy writing btw. Only most of the authors are not translated. Cornelia Funke is one of a very few.
Thanks for hosting German literature month, Caroline 🙂 I can’t wait for November to start! Nice to know that you have read and liked books by Süskind, Schlink and Fallada. It is interesting that Fallada’s books were out of vogue in Germany till recently and they are enjoying a renaissance now. It is sad that most of the German writers who write fantasy are not translated. Hope publishers remedy this situation soon.
[…] Vishy’s Blog – Vishy Introduction with choices […]
Hi Vishy,
Looks like you have it all planned out. 🙂
I have only read The Sufferings of Young Werther and loved it even though it was so heart breaking (or perhaps because of it).
Suskind’s “Perfume” I haven’t read but I watched the movie. Doesn’t really count, does it?
The Glass Bead Game is a book I’ve had in mind for quite some time but I was somehow put off by the storyline. Maybe I should just give it a try.
How about Kafka? I might try The Metamorphosis, I’m intrigued by the story.
Glad to know that you have read ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther’ and liked it, Delia. I agree with you – it is heartbreaking. The movie version of ‘Perfume’ was wonderful. I saw it after reading the book and liked it very much. I think it was faithful to the book, but some of the long scenes in the book were shortened in the movie and some characters were given less importance. Hope you get to read ‘The Glass Bead Game’ sometime. Kafka is also a wonderful choice. I have read ‘The Metamorphosis’ before and I found it very dark and very different from other novels. Kafka is one-of-a-kind writer. Hope you like ‘The Metamorphosis’.
I didn’t even know Patrick Süskind is German! I read it and felt it to be a weird for me. I have Alone in Berlin, Glass Bead Game with me. Perhaps I would join in. Good luck
Thanks, Jo! Hope you can join in too 🙂 You can read ‘Alone in Berlin’ for the City Challenge also.
As the story of ‘Perfume’ is set in France, it is tempting to assume that Süskind is French. But that ‘ü’ gives it away I think 🙂
I’m excited for your new endeavor! 🙂
Oh my.
You inspire me to read outside my comfort zone.
Thanks Linda 🙂
Now this is something I’d definitely love to join 🙂 Nice reading list; looks like you have a great month ahead of you. Happy Reading!
Thanks Priya 🙂 Hope you can join German literature month.
Ah, an interesting challenge! This is also the Year of Germany in India – :-). Watch out for a lot of concerts coming your way in Chennai in November/December. 🙂 German orchestras and the like. Will let you know by email.
Thanks for telling me about that, Soul 🙂 I didn’t know that! Will look forward to your email. I will also keep an eye on the cultural calendar here from now on. There must be a few events scheduled at Max Mueller Bhavan.
Great list of books! I hope I can take part as well but November’s looking very busy so I’m not sure – I might take part in a week of it at least. The only one I’ve read is The Visit by Durrenmatt, and that was ages ago when I was learning German at school. Also read The Physicists by him and liked that more. Enjoy the reading!
Hope you can join for part of the German literature month, Andrew. Glad to know that you like Dürrenmatt’s books too. I have read a few mysteries by Dürrenmatt and loved all of them. I am hoping to try some of his plays now.
Wonderful list Vishy! I have read Faust and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hope you have a good German month! 🙂
Thanks, Birdy! Wonderful to know that you have read ‘Faust’! Jealous of you 🙂 I hope to read a few chapters of it in November.
what a great month. i think i’m short on the Germans. love Goethe to death though, and Hesse is brilliant too. thoroughly enjoyed Glass Bead Game.
Glad to know that you like Goethe and Hesse, Monica. I am hoping to read ‘The Glass Bead Game’ in November. Can’t wait to start it 🙂
I am TOTALLY inspired. I know nothing about German lit. I am going to look for the Glass Bead one right now!
Hope you enjoy exploring German literature, Sarah 🙂 Hope you enjoy reading ‘The Glass Bead Game’. Hermann Hesse is really awesome!
Those are wonderful choices, Vishy! I’m not a huge fan of German lit, but I’ve read most of the works on your list and would definitely recommend them. Absolutely try E.T.A. Hoffmann, Sandman is fantastic and so short! I’ve been wanting to read Glenkil for some tie, I might join you if I find the time.
Thanks Bina 🙂 I will definitely read Hoffmann’s ‘Sandman’ this time. I had to do a bit of research to find out what ‘Glenkil’ meant 🙂 My German is improving 🙂 Hope you can join in, for the ‘Glenkil’ read.
German literature is definitely interesting. I majored in German in college and ended up reading quite a bit of it. The Marquise of O is excellent, and Goethe’s Faust is one of the best. Some German poets remain among my favorites, and I am not a huge fan of poetry. Enjoy your month!
Thanks Michelle! Wonderful to know that you majored in German in college! I envy you for having read these wonderful books in their original 🙂 I can’t wait to read ‘The Marquise of O-‘ and the other books.
This sounds like a great idea. I am not too aware of German literature, and am not participating in the German literature month but I will be reading your blog and those of the other participants to add books to my reading list 🙂
Thanks Nish! Hope you are able to explore German literature sometime and like it.
[…] wrote a post on the books that I wanted to read for German Literature Month. As it always happens, after one makes plans, I changed the plan when […]