October / Germany Reading Poll

Please nominate the German books you would like to read by August 31.

Some information on the books:

The Caucasian Chalk Circle By Bertolt Brecht

Berlin Alexanderplatz by Döblin

The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum by H Boell

The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass

The Pigeon by Patrick Süskind

Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Death in Venice by T. Mann

Beneath the Wheel by Hesse

Galileo by Bertolt Brecht

The voting will end on September 30th.

I nominate The Caucasian Chalk Circle By Bertolt Brecht

Berlin Alexanderplatz by Döblin.

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Originally Posted by Etienne

Berlin Alexanderplatz by Döblin.

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My library has Doblin, but I will be a meek child and will not act at all for this thread. I cannot do one book a month, not even I.:(

Yes, perhaps not you :p

oh shoot... I'm afraid I'll have to miss out on this due to my exams :( :( :(
so I'll refrain from nominating any book. here's some recommendations, though

Max and Moritz, by Wilhelm Busch, a famous 19th century cartoonist... one of the first authors to introduce comic strips, actually.
Wilhelm Busch is known for his deliberately cheap rhymes and tongue-in-cheek criticism of 19th century society.
I haven't read the English translation, though. So I can't tell you if it's any good :( :(

Theodor Fontane: Beyond Recall (Unwiederbringlich): unavailable on amazon.co.uk at the moment :(


Wolfgang Borchert: The Man Outside (Draußen vor der Tür)

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Originally Posted by wikipedia

The play

The Man Outside describes the hopelessness of a post-war soldier called Beckmann who returns from Russia to find that he has lost his wife and home, as well as his illusions and beliefs. He finds every door he comes to closed. Even the Elbe River rejects his suicide, washing him up on shore. [.......]

Due to its release during the sensitive immediate postwar period, Borchert subtitled his play "A play that no theatre wants to perform and no audience wants to see." Despite this, the first radio broadcast (February 1947) was very successful. The first theatrical showing of The Man Outside (at the Hamburger Kammerspiele) opened on the day after Borchert's death, November 21, 1947.

The play consists of five scenes in one act. It makes use of expressionist styling and even of Brechtian techniques, such as the Verfremdungseffekt (defamiliarization effect) to disorient and engage its audience.

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Gudrun Pausewang: Fallout (Die Wolke), a young adults book

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When a nuclear accident takes place at the Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power station, people are advised to stay inside and close all windows and doors. Janna, 14, left alone to look after her little brother in a world gone mad, must make decisions that will mean life or death for them both.

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The Final Journey

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Alice, a German Jewish girl, has been protected by her family from knowing the fate of the Jews in war-torn Germany. As her journey to Auschwitz begins, she starts to understand why she has been kept in hiding for so long and to realize the threat to the Jewish population in Germany.

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for those(select few ;) ) of you can read German and would like to read a German book outside the bookclub, I'd recommend Rafik Schami, a German Syrian writer, e.g. Die Sehnsucht der Schwalbe (a collection of stories about the immigrant experience in Germany)

Erich Kästner: Fabian - The Story of a Moralist

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The book is, by all accounts, a pretty accurate picture of the decadence rampant in Berlin during the Weimar era. Entitled "The story of a moralist", Jakob Fabian finds himself unemployed and moving ever closer to the edges of society. Frequenting seedy night clubs and bars, he tries to shun the vices that are constantly swirling about, eventually becoming romantically involved to a neighbor who, in the end tragically succumbs to the underground world that is Weimar Berlin. This leaves Jakob alone and on the very edge of losing all sense of self.

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Max Frisch (Swiss writer): Homo Faber

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The novel tells the story of a middle-class UNESCO engineer called Walter Faber, who believes in rational, calculated world. Strange events undermine his security...

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I think you're only allowed one nomination Sleepy. So make your best pick. :D


Is the criteria all German language novels or does the author have to be specifically from Germany? Do Czechoslovakian or Austrian authors count? Many wrote in German I believe.

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Originally Posted by Virgil

I think you're only allowed one nomination Sleepy. So make your best pick. :D

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hehe, look at the beginning of my first post up there again :)

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Originally Posted by SleepyWitch

oh shoot... I'm afraid I'll have to miss out on this due to my exams :( :( :(
so I'll refrain from nominating any book. here's some recommendations, though

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Originally Posted by SleepyWitch

hehe, look at the beginning of my first post up there again :)

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:lol: Sorry. I only look at the list. :D

I'd like to nominate

Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum (The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum) by H Boell

I would like to nominate The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass.

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Originally Posted by Scheherazade

I would like to nominate The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass.

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And you're doing this to torture me?:p :p :bawling:

Actually, it is, in its way, a beautiful parable, simple though it is.
The moderator has my support! Any insurrection will not be tolerated!:crash: :D

Nominations so far:

1. The Caucasian Chalk Circle By Bertolt Brecht

2. Berlin Alexanderplatz by Döblin

3. The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum by H Boell

4. The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass

Seeing as this year its by Country Virgil, i think it is safe to say that it is just authors from Germany. :)

Is it okay to nominate a novella?

If it is, I'd like to nominate The Pigeon by Patrick Süskind.

Faust- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Excellent nominations so far!
But I see that Thomas Mann has not been mentioned yet. My favourite novel is 'Buddenbrooks', but as it is very long and apparently not very well-known outside Germany, I'll nominate 'The Death in Venice'. (I hope that's the right English title.)

Hmmmm how about Hesse's Beneath the Wheel? I would like to nominate it if there is still any place left.

Wait...are we talking about literature written in German, or just literature from Germany?

Novels written in German by German authors from Germany.

I'm waiting for Sche to list the list again, :lol.

I am not sure which I can do, depending on which title comes out ahead.

Okay, okay... If I must! :p

Here are the nominations so far:

1. The Caucasian Chalk Circle By Bertolt Brecht

2. Berlin Alexanderplatz by Döblin

3. The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum by H Boell

4. The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass

5. The Pigeon by Patrick Süskind.

6. Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

7. The Death in Venice by T. Mann

8. Beneath the Wheel by Hesse

Last two nominations up for grabs!

Thank ye Sche

I've had this on my reading list, so let's give it a try.

The Death of Virgil by Hermann Broch


No it's not my death. :p So don't get your hopes up. :D

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Originally Posted by Virgil

I've had this on my reading list, so let's give it a try.

The Death of Virgil by Hermann Broch


No it's not my death. :p So don't get your hopes up. :D

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Broch, like Musil, is Austrian?

Virgil, I personally hated that book (it's not often that it happens), so if you ever read it I'd like to know what you thought of it. I know that authoritatively speaking this book has a good backing...

Here are the nominations so far:

1. The Caucasian Chalk Circle By Bertolt Brecht

2. Berlin Alexanderplatz by Döblin

3. The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum by H Boell

4. The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass

5. The Pigeon by Patrick Süskind.

6. Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

7. The Death in Venice by T. Mann

8. Beneath the Wheel by Hesse

Last two nominations up for grabs!

Galileo by Bertolt Brecht

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Originally Posted by barbara0207

Excellent nominations so far!
But I see that Thomas Mann has not been mentioned yet. My favourite novel is 'Buddenbrooks', but as it is very long and apparently not very well-known outside Germany, I'll nominate 'The Death in Venice'. (I hope that's the right English title.)

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Oh, both of these are on my wish list. I've got them in my Amazon basket as we speak, after high praise from another forumer. But as Death in Venice is a novella/short story I think, it would be a better choice, time-wise. :thumbs_up

Damn, Dürrenmatt is Swiss. I would have nominated something (like Der Besuch der alten Dame) by him, if he was German.
Curses! Foiled again!

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Originally Posted by wessexgirl

Oh, both of these are on my wish list. I've got them in my Amazon basket as we speak, after high praise from another forumer. But as Death in Venice is a novella/short story I think, it would be a better choice, time-wise. :thumbs_up

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I think Mann is a writer that gains from being read in a longer form. Death is Venice is really good, but I liked, say, Doctor Faustus even much better. So my point is that you should read both :p

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Originally Posted by papayahed

Galileo by Bertolt Brecht

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:thumbs_up Brecht is an amazing Dramatist. :nod:

:wave: New to the forum, I'd like to nominate Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane.

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Originally Posted by Etienne

I think Mann is a writer that gains from being read in a longer form. Death is Venice is really good, but I liked, say, Doctor Faustus even much better. So my point is that you should read both :p

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I plan to, but then again I've got such a massive TBR pile, it may be some time before I get around to them. That's the good thing about choosing for October, it will force me to read a specific book then. :D

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Originally Posted by wessexgirl

I plan to, but then again I've got such a massive TBR pile, it may be some time before I get around to them.

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I know exactly what you mean. I've stopped buying books due to lack of funds for a little while and I'm making my pile melt slowly as in the last year I' had been reading at the rhythm of about 2 books a week, but buying 5 or 6 in the meanwhile :lol:

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Originally Posted by TrishB

:wave: New to the forum, I'd like to nominate Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane.

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Hi Trish,

Thank you for your nomination but the nominations and the voting are open only those who have 50+ posts, I am afraid.

Some information on the books:

The Caucasian Chalk Circle By Bertolt Brecht

Berlin Alexanderplatz by Döblin

The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum by H Boell

The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass

The Pigeon by Patrick Süskind

Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Death in Venice by T. Mann

Beneath the Wheel by Hesse

Galileo by Bertolt Brecht

The voting will end on September 30th.

Come one everyone! The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a must read for anyone who loves plays! :D

I nominated the tin drum, but when I looked at the information to faust I wouldn't mind reading that iether. I just hope I can get a hold of these books.

Shall I reserve my copy of The Tin Drum?

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Originally Posted by Niamh

Come one everyone! The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a must read for anyone who loves plays! :D

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hint hint nudge nudge!!! :p