Reading German Books in 2020 discussion

I'm not going to set a specific goal or post a list of definite titles straightaway but just begin at this level and see what happens.

Good to have you on board.

Thanks Lizzie so glad you decided to run it this year. I really enjoyed this challenge last time, and there are still masses of German-language authors/books that appeal, and sure I'll pick up even more from what others are reading.

I was disappointed by Austrian author Paulus Hochgatterer's novella The Day My Grandfather Was a hero which deals with issues of guilt and culpability in relation to the actions of ordinary Austrians during WW2, it's well-written but I found the issues explored fairly familiar ones and I'm not convinced that Hochgatterer's contribution was particularly interesting or stood out from other similar books I've read.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished a newly-translated collection of pieces by Robert Walser
Little Snow Landscape

Link to my review

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My third book is Yoka Tawada's Memoirs of a Polar Bear some interesting ideas here but overall an uneven novel.

Link to my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've started my fourth book Aimée & Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943 by Erica Fischer. A reconstruction of the love affair between a housewife - who may or may not have had strong ties to the Nazi party - and a Jewish woman, based on letters, diaries, and interviews. It's fascinating so far not least because of the different strategies Fischer adopts to tell the story and the ways in which that raises questions about memory, veracity, and how people represented their beliefs and roles during WW2 years later.

I finished Aimée & Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943 I was slightly underwhelmed by Fischer's writing but still found a lot of her material worth exploring.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I started Inka Parei's The Shadow-Boxing Woman and was impressed by the portrayal of Berlin not long after the Wall fell but I just couldn't connect to the characters or the plot so finally gave up about a third of the way through it.

i read this a few years ago, Alwynne. I couldn’t connect with it either.

Good to know Lizzie, I was very disappointed, I thought it would be just my kind of book.

My fifth book is Severin's Journey Into the Dark: A Prague Ghost Story a 1914 novel by German-speaking native of Prague, then in Bohemia, Paul Leppin, who was adjacent to Kafka and the Prague Circle. Fascinating as a portrait of the city and its culture but not as satisfying as a narrative.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...