It felt quieter than in previous years, though that may be relative, now that I’m able to check the linky more frequently. In the end though, it wasn’t as quiet as it seemed. 30 bloggers contributed over 100 reviews! That makes November a great month for German Literature.
If there are any reviews still at the work-in-progess stage, feel free to publish and add them to the linky by 21:00 hours Wednesday 6.12.2017. I’ll be publishing the now traditional GLM Author Index the following day.
As for the quality of the reviews – WOW! Juliana gave me an object lesson in how to write about a book I couldn’t summon up much enthusiasm for. And the Old Book Aporeciator, who joined us for the first time (WELCOME), wrote a review that prompted me to discover one of my books of the year. (It wins my book of the month accolade – see below.)
Thank you to everyone who joined in, with particular thanks to the regulars: Mel and Stu, who all published at least 10 reviews each. Thanks guys, your support is amazing!
And Tony, I loved our conversation regarding Buddenbrooks – almost as much as I love the novel itself! As usual, you win the trophy for most original post. Providing an original translation for German Literature Month is what I call going above and beyond …..
Finally, thanks to my co-hostess, Caroline, who found herself fighting a sudden and prolonged patch of ill-health, but nevertheless produced a couple of excellent reviews. Get well soon, Caroline.
I had a productive GLM – despite the building works going on around me. The house has been re-rendered, the garage roof has been replaced. Things will be no less noisy in December. The bath overflow cracked and the water damage has wreaked havoc on the dining room. Cue plumbers, plasterers and decorators all round during December. The joys!
But I digress from the business at hand – a summary of my reading month
Read/reviewed November 2017
Reviews
Buddenbrooks: A Literary Conversation in Four Parts
This House is Mine – Dörte Hansen
Kruso – Lutz Seiler
Memoirs of A Polar Bear– Yoko Tawada
Imperium – Christian Kracht
The Mentor – Daniel Kehlmann
In the Restaurant – Christoph Ribbat
Grieshuus – Theodor Storm
Eagles and Angels – Juli Zeh
How A Ghastly Story Was Brought to Light by A Common or Garden Butcher’s Dog – Johann Peter Hebel
Features
Six Degrees of Separation: From Less than Zero to The Inspector Barlach Mysteries
2017 Reading Statistics
YTD 92 Read, 8 Audio Books, 10 DNF
November 2017 8 Read 2 DNF
Lizzy's Literary Life (Volume One) 
Well done! Most impressive – I wish I could have managed more!
Yes, well done. I had hoped to read and post more but work commitments basically put paid to that. I still have a lot of posts I haven’t read yet as well.
Til next year. It was fun.
Thank you very much, Lizzy and Caroline! If not for GLM, I wouldn’t have discovered ‘Alone in Berlin’ and many other books and short stories. Many thanks!
A pleasure, as always 😉
Thank you, Lizzy and Caroline, for hosting GLM! Each year, I discover so many good books through this event 🙂 This year, I got particularly curious about The Oppermanns, reviewed by Caroline; and Eagles and Angels, reviewed by you!
I did finish a second review which I will link. However, I also conducted an interview with translator Isabel Fargo Cole (Wolfgang Hilbig, Franz Fühmann) that was published at 3:AM if that’s of interest (it was one of the things that took away from reading time). You can find it here: http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/translating-the-landscape-of-wolfgang-hilbig-an-interview-with-isabel-fargo-cole/