*** Fanfare please ***
I’m happy ecstatic to announce that Caroline from Beauty is A Sleeping Cat and myself are co-hosting a German Literature Month in November. Ever since Iris from Iris on Books hosted her Month of Dutch Literature, it’s been on our minds to do something similar for the literature of the German-speaking countries. We both share a passion for the literature of Austria, Germany and Switzerland and hope to find many like-minded and interested people to join us.
We plan on comprehensive coverage – not quite the A-Z of German literature in our badge – but certainly literature from the 18th century onwards! In order to do this, we have structured the month thematically and will include two readalongs with lots of giveaways that generous publishers like And Other Stories, Bitter Lemon Press, Melville House, One World Classics, Pereine Press and Portobello Books have kindly contributed.
Readalongs
My readalong choice is Theodor Fontane’s Effi Briest. I would take Effi to that proverbial desert island. Most people have read Madame Bovary or Anna Karenina, but not many are acquainted with Effi. I hope you’ll consider joining Caroline and me as we read and discuss Effi over the course of three weeks. The readalong starts on Saturday 5th November (chapters 1-15), continuing on the 12th (Chapters 16-24), finishing on the 19th (chapters 25-36).
Caroline has chosen a book by her favourite German author, Heinrich Böll. The Silent Angel readalong coincides with her monthly Literature and War schedule. It’s not a Böll I have read before and I’m looking forward to Caroline revealing why it is unique! We’ll discuss The Silent Angel on Saturday the 26th.
Weekly Themes
Week 1 (Nov 1 -7) German Literature
Maybe you like Thomas Mann or you are a fan of Genazino. Perhaps you prefer contemporary German literature. Erpenbeck or Kehlmann perhaps? Who is your favourite German author? Now’s the time to share with us.
Week 2 (Nov 8-14) Crime Fiction
There are a lot of German crime novels. Whether you like it gritty or prefer psychological suspense, you are sure to find something to suit.
Week 3 (Nov 15 – 21) From Austria and Switzerland
You could read some of the 19th century Swiss classics like Gotthelf, Keller or Meyer or finally read those Roths and Zweigs that have been sitting in your TBR for years.
Week 4 (Nov 22-28) Kleist and Other German Classics
November 21 marks the bicentennial of Kleist’s death. We will read some of his novellas and I may read a play (something I haven’t done since university). This is also the time to (re-)acquaint ourselves with other German classics – Goethe anyone?
Week 5 (Nov 29-30) Read As You Please and Wrap Up
Here’s your chance to read and review whatever you like.
Giveaways
Just so you have no excuse To encourage you to join in, we are going to start the Wednesdays-are-wunderbar giveaways in October. This will allow us to get the books to the winners in plenty of time for November.
Just look at some of the amazing titles we have to share. I tell you, I’m not easily moved but the largesse of the publishers brought tears to my eyes this week. They are obviously as passionate about German literature as Caroline and myself. We hope some of that will have rubbed off on you by the time November is through. Will you join us?
I feel I cannot but join you after the generous support you gave my month (I hope I will be able to organise it as professionally as your German Lit Month sounds next time). I’ll have to look around for what to read, but please count me in.
Great! Thanks Iris.
This is a compelling theme, my favourite literary region. Unfortunately I will be travelling a lot during November with lots of reading time but uncertain access to broadband for blog-posting. I’ll read all the posts with interest though, and look forward to discovering some new books/authors. Good luck.
We want everyone to join in. So, if you can’t blog during the month, or even if you don’t have a blog, you can participate through comments or even send me a review via email, which I will publish as a guest post.
That sounds open-ended, and therefore irresistible. Please count me in.
Excellent!
good luck ,all the best stu
Thanks, Stu. Are you joining us?
I ve got a glut of books this month from germany so not sure I will sorry
All you need do, Stu, is save one review for November …..
I will do I ll schedule them all then I ve three read ,so will schedule for november now ,all the best stu
I think I’ll join – I have several German novels that this will give me an excuse to read. I don’t think I’ll stick to the weekly themes, if that’s all right, as the books I have are Parzival, Lotte in Weimar, The Threepenny Opera, and The Magic Mountain. And Thus Spoke Zarathustra, but I’ve already tried to read it twice (or three times?) and failed.
Glad to have you on board. Read and post as you will. The weekly themes are simply a guideline for you and a structure for me – otherwise I’d spend the month reading Zweig and nothing else!
I love the idea of a German Lit Month.Life is busy at the moment, but I will try to drop by. And my LibraryThing stats tell me that I do have a few German books to hand, so hopefully I will find the time to read one or two of them.
My initial reaction was enthusiastic until I reached your “I hope you’ll consider joining Caroline and I as we read….”
Sorry, but this truly offends me. Not joining you for Effi Briest will be my loss, not yours, of course, but I am seriously confused and depressed to see such a solecism on a literary site.
Quite right, too. Just goes to show we all need proof readers to maintain standards.
I will, of course, be joining in enthusiastically (although I’ve already knocked off a round dozen as part of my own month in August!).
I’m planning to give ‘Effi Briest’ a go; perhaps also ‘Visitation’ and the Hotschnig short-story collection (if I get around to getting a copy). I’d like to knock off the second volume of ‘The People of Selwyla’, which would cover the Swiss criterion, and I’m expecting a bilingual copy of Goethe’s Erotic Poems (which I won recently) to arrive any day now.
Oh, and I have a mammoth copy of ‘The Tin Drum’ just waiting to be read…
All in German, natürlich 😉
Hmm, I really should have put all this in a post rather than in a comment…
It’d be nice if there were some original language giveaway items too (hint, hint!).
Cheeky chappy! No matter how hard you try, you just can’t keep everyone happy. 😉 Though if any German/Swiss/Austrian publishers wanted to play along, Caroline and I wouldn’t exclude them …..
I’ve retweeted your post, hope you get some more people joining in. I myself have no German Lit on my shelves I think. While that is a terrible omission, I don’t want to add new books so I’m not taking part. If I do happen to find a stray German author on the shelves, I will, of course!
Lee, do you think you could find a little something in your library? Failing that, don’t forget to enter the October giveaways ……
Very nice of you to take the trouble to reply, Lizzy, and so elegantly, considering my grumpy knee-jerk reaction, failing to allow for the possibility of a typo. I started by expressing my enthusiasm for your undertaking, and I re-iterate my impression that your blog is a lovely one. Sorry for my clumsy start; I hope you will still tolerate me as a follower of the blog, despite my own intolerance.
This sounds fantastic! As of *this afternoon* you’ll be able to download the latest issue of ‘New Books in German’ from our website – http://www.new-books-in-german.com.
The centre-spread reviews 12 books just out in English translation – perhaps some to add to your list?
I can’t wait for German Literature Month to start…
Charlotte
nbg@london.goethe.org
How impressively ambitious/ I am sure I will find some way to join in.
I hope you get heaps of Effi Briest readers.
Welcome aboard, Tom.
What a fantastic idea! I love all things German so will do my best to join in as much as I can. I don’t think I’ve read any German crime fiction so I’m particularly interested in what people come up with for that week. I’ll have to go and see if I can find any in my library.
Glad to have you along, Jackie.
Fortuitously the Crime on A Europass ticket visited Germany, Austria and Switzerland just recently. So there are a pile of crime writing suggestions ready for your perusal.
Germany
http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2011/09/crime-fiction-on-euro-pass-germany-week.html
Austria
http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2011/09/crime-fiction-on-euro-pass-austria-week.html
Switzerland
http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2011/09/crime-fiction-on-euro-pass-switzerland.html
Happy hunting!
OK, second time lucky — as of *now*, you can download the latest issue of ‘New Books in German’ from our website – http://www.new-books-in-german.com.
Click on ‘Print Version’ at the bottom of the front page, or browse through the reviews by clicking on book covers.
The centre-spread reviews 12 books just out in English translation – perhaps some to add to your list?
Thanks, all best,
Charlotte
nbg@london.goethe.org
Well worth the wait, Charlotte. And if you can bear my tone deaf pitch, to quote the unforgettable Freddie M, “I want them all and I want them now!” I’d best go ask for a pay rise …..
Great selection of titles – looking forward to it! Effi Briest has been gathering dust on my TBR pile for about eight years, maybe it’s finally time to get beyond page 10 and escape the unread-book guilt.
I’d love to join this one. I have some Bolls on my shelves that I haven’t read yet. See you in November.
Loving the enthusiasm for this. We even have a hashtag on twitter now! #germanlitmonth
Hello, I’ll be joining in too. I’m going to have to narrow my choices down.
Hey, count me in as well, got some german literature sitting on the tbr pile.
Hi Lizzy
I love the idea of a German literature month I have read next to nothing (in fact I think it is nothing) from Germany, which is pretty shameful. So, I will read along with one or two books. I have Alone in Berlin on my list already, I think I will start there. Ceri
While I have a bunch of German lit on my shelves at home, I only have Fallada’s Every Man Dies Alone. But count me in for at least that!
Hi, Germany is a very special place for me – I lived in Dresden for a couple of years and my daughter was born there. Sadly my German remains rudimentary so I’ll stick to English translations. I have 3 books that I think qualify, Perfume by Patrick Suskind, The Sorrows of Young Werther and The Swiss Family Robinson. I’ll also join in with the Effi Briest as I love a good heroine. Thanks for hosting and roll on November.
Please count me in for German Literature Month. I haven’t read much German lit in a long time. Be nice to get back into it.
Hi
I would love to participate in this challenge but I had a few questions.
Is it okay if i don’t read along or not read any crime fiction because the libraries I access don’t have that particular book/ genre?
Are crossovers with other challenges allowed?
Are books – not by German authors – but set in Germany allowed?
Where do we post a link to our reviews?
Awaiting your reply eagerly.
Delighted to have you on board neer.
Just to clarify – this is an event, not a challenge. If you only read one German piece of German lit in the month, that’s absolutely fine. You don’t have to participate each week and when you do, the book doesn’t have to match the theme. Just read some German literature – anything in German or translated from German qualifies.
Crossovers with other challenges – of course.
Caroline and I want this event to be enjoyable, not hard work!
Regarding links – I can’t use Mr Linky on this blog so it’s a bit tricky. I think Caroline and I will be asking participants to post their links as comments on weekly wrap up posts. Unless someone can suggest a neater solution?
Thanks for the reply and the warm welcome. Please enter my name too in the list of participants. Here’s my sign-up post:
http://inkquilletc.blogspot.com/2011/10/german-literature-month.html
I’d like to join the readalong of Effie Briest – I must confess I have no previous knowledge of this book. In fact “German literature” for me has connotations of darkness, angst, and heaviness… I’m sure there’s more to it than that, and I look forward to learning about it!
I’ve just signed up at Goodreads and I hope to post my comments there, with a link from here, if that’s okay?
Thanks, Eibhlin
Please count me in -I have an e book of Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice and several of his short stories-I just finished his The Magic Mountain recently and am eager to read more of his work-I will look around for some new to me authors to add to my list
I just posted on two Short Stories by two German Nobel Prize Winners, Thomas Mann and Hermann Hesse
thanks for hingosting this wonderful event and I hope to be back for it in 2012.
here is a link to my post which I hope you do not mind my leaving
http://rereadinglives.blogspot.com/2011/11/thomas-mann-and-hermann-hesse-short.html
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