Reading German Books in 2020 discussion

Hi everyone,

I really like how in this reading challenge group reads and reading books that have been on your shelf for some time can be combined!

I want to take part in all group reads plus 8 books I already have at home or planned reading. The latter are (not yet in reading order):

Nabelfrei: Mein Leben, kein Roman
Gehen, ging, gegangen
Rücken an Rücken
Elefanten im Garten
Zeitreisen. Vier Frauen, zwei Jahrhunderte, ein Weg
Hier sind Löwen
Sterne sieht man nur im Dunkeln
Die Wand

Happy reading everyone!

Thats a great list, Glendalough, happy reading!

Thank you, Britta!

So, the first book I finished was not on my list at all because I assumed that the Original was french as the author is french, but no... It's 'Mein Weg von einer weissen Frau zu einem jungen Mann mit Migrationshintergrund ' von Jayrome C. Robinet. It's non-fiction and he describes his transition from woman to trans man. Due to his education and work he is also able to include a lot of information and questions actually about topics like racism, refugees and gender equality. It was really interesting and written with a lot emotion in the personal parts. I'm now looking forward to seeing him in an interview at the Lesen.Hören14 Literaturfest in Mannheim!
Mein Weg von einer weißen Frau zu einem jungen Mann mit Migrationshintergrund

Book no. 2:

Elefanten im Garten by Meral Kureyshi
Although this book is not too long, it took me quite a while to read it. It made me so sad. I think the author was succesful in depicting an emigrant/immigrant story from Yugoslavia to Switzerland (mostly from a child´s perspective), but there were not many hopeful moments. So I cannot say I enjoyed reading the book, but it made me thankful that I did not have to go through such a transition and I will look out for the author´s second book which should be published this year.

For me it was a good book. Because she was an immigrant here, but not one of the 'normal' groups, and then you see, how difficult it is, to find your own way.

I totally agree with you. The experience is really well described. I guess I just was not in the mood for it.
By now I've read an interview with the author where she explained that her actual reason to write the book was the death of her father and she wanted to write about that, but most people see it as an immigrant story first and that's okay with her.
like I said, I'm curious about her second novel!

Glendalough wrote: "I totally agree with you. The experience is really well described. I guess I just was not in the mood for it.
By now I've read an interview with the author where she explained that her actual reaso..."

Do you know if her second novel is there in german? I'venot heard anything about it.

It has not yet been published. On the website of the publisher it says both 'unknown' and 'November 2020' for the publishing date. It's called 'Fünf Jahreszeiten'
https://www.limmatverlag.ch/programm/...
Here is a bit about the content:
https://www.ubs.com/global/de/about_u...

Glendalough wrote: "It has not yet been published. On the website of the publisher it says both 'unknown' and 'November 2020' for the publishing date. It's called 'Fünf Jahreszeiten'
https://www.limmatverlag.ch/progra..."

Thanks, it seems good. Sieht gut aus. Jetzt einfach warten.

Book no. 3:

Hier sind Löwen by Katerina Poladjan
Liked it, but did not love it. I agree to a review I listened to on booktube that stated that the novel is really good if you are curious about Armenia. I think the atmosphere and emotions in present-day Armenia were even better captured than the historical plotline. I liked the element of the old family bible as the link between past and present, but somehow wanted more story in the historical plot and a main character I could more relate to in the present-day plot.

Book no. 4

Baba Dunjas letzte Liebe by Alina Bronsky. I
listened to the German audio book version and thought the narrator fitted perfectly, recommend! I loved the dark humour of Baba Dunja and plan to read other works by Bronsky which seem to feature Grandmas as well...

Book no. 5

Am Fluß by Esther Kinsky
See my opinion in the group read thread

Book no. 6

Anatomie einer Nacht (Anatomy of a Night) by Anna Kim
I discovered this by chance in my library, I had not heard of Anna Kim before. She was born in South Korea and has lived in Austria since her childhood and writes in German. However, this book was written after a trip to Greenland (which is also the subject of a non-fiction book by her) and takes place in a little town on Greenland´s east coast. Within one night around 10 People there commit suicide and we follow them and their intertwined stories during this night. After I got used to the not completely linear structure of the timeline within the book, I was really drawn in and read it in few sittings. I would also recommend that as there are so many people that you could easily mix them up. I found the different characters and their life stories interesting and the writing made me feel as if I was in this cold, dark place. However, as it was even somehow hinted in the blurb, I expected some kind of reveal at the end which never came (or did I miss it between the lines?).
All the things I learned about Greenland from this book made me really interested in Kims non-fiction essay about the place and its people.

Book no. 7

Das Geschenk by Maria Elisabeth Straub
I found this in the sale section and thought the premise sounded interesting, the story of the Holy Family (Mary, Joseph and Jesus) told by Mary. I had not heard of the author or this book before and am really glad I found it by chance!
The current timeline takes place during the evening/night/morning that Joseph dies and Jesus tells his mother he will leave the family house afterwards. During that Mary is looking back on her life until this point. And she is not the kind of woman you might expect! While being very religious she is also critical of the patriarchy happening in the world and in religious groups, she is witty and pragmatic and, she basically told the story of the Holy Ghost as a lie to hide the truth about her pregnancy!
It is really difficult to say who would be the ideal audience for this book because you will only get all references and little details if you did basic Bible study; at the same time deeply religious people might be offended by the freedom the author took with the biblical personnel and stories.
Do I believe this is near the truth of how things happened 2000 years ago? Not really. But I loved to read about a woman who did not let herself be beaten down by life's circumstances. I loved 'listening' to her and wished the book had been longer and filled with even more stories about her family (which is much larger here than three people!). A 4 star read for me!

Book no. 8

Käsebier erobert den Kurfürstendamm by Gabriele Tergit
Our group read for Q2. I was not a fan. More details in the group read thread.

Book no. 9

Nabelfrei: Mein Leben, kein Roman by Elfriede Sattler
One of those stories that you could not believe if it was not from real life! This memoir deals with the author's life, growing up in Germany during Hitler's time and WW2 in poor and abusive circumstances to becoming a famous international star in Oriental dancing in the 1950s and 60s.
The first half was hard to read for me due to all the abuse and bad things happening. Then, in the second half, it almost feels like a fairy tale!
The writing style was not really fluid, but I was amazed by the author's frankness. Also, the extraordinary story makes up for the writing style.
I wished there would have been a bit more explanation how, apart from natural talent, she was able to become such an extraordinary Oriental dancer. How I wish I could see her dance, but, no YouTube back then ;-)