Best german literature books according to redditors
We found 50 Reddit comments discussing the best german literature books. We ranked the 19 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 50 Reddit comments discussing the best german literature books. We ranked the 19 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Try the other books of Walter Moers, if you haven't yet!
Rumo is my favourite:
https://www.amazon.com/Rumo-Miraculous-Adventures-Walter-Moers/dp/1585679364/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481039638&sr=8-1&keywords=rumo
You want dwarves? I give you Dwarves!
Also - Malazan has its own non-human races that play an important role in the series.
> The Dwarves by Markus Heitz.
Not hard at all. If you search the part I quoted, this Amazon listing is the first result.
Enjoy!
Hmm... maybe I'll put the first one on my Amazon wishlist. Thanks Jimbo!
Walter Moers
Given the massive success of Adams, Pratchett and others, the rave reviews of everything in Moers' ever-expanding Zamonia series, the fantastic illustrations and the riotous and creative writing I cannot believe so few people have read these books.
These books have some deep social and psychological analysis alongside absurdity, humor, violence, love and adventure.
Reference books, chronologically:
Editorial reviews:
>“Cheerfully insane. . . . Remains lively and inventive right through the final heroic battle between good and evil.”
—The New York Times Book Review
>“Moers’s creative mind is like J.K. Rowling’s on ecstasy; his book reads like a collision between The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the Brothers Grimm…. What a delightful book.”
—Detroit News and Free Press
>“An overstuffed confection… Cross The Lord of the Rings with Yellow Submarine, throw in dashes of Monty Python, Douglas Adams, Shrek, and The Princess Bride…That’s the sort of alchemy in which this sprawling novel trades.”
—Kirkus
First thing that comes to my mind is, 'The Reader' by Bernard Schlink
https://www.amazon.com/Reader-Bernhard-Schlink/dp/0375707972
This one, may seem kind of obvious
I always thought this was a clever cover for The Glass Bead Game.
Is it Rumo - http://www.amazon.com/Rumo-And-His-Miraculous-Adventures/dp/1585679364
At least for Anarchists or other left-libertarians it should also be important to actually read up on some basic or even fundamental ethical texts given most political views and arguments are fundamentally rooted in morality (unless you're a orthodox Marxist or Monarchist). I'm sadly not familiar enough with applied ethics to link collections of arguments for specific ethical problems, but it's very important to know what broad system you're using to evaluate what's right or wrong to not contradict yourself.
At least a few very old texts will also be available for free somewhere on the internet like The Anarchist Library.
Some good intro books:
Some foundational texts and contemporary authors of every main view within normative ethics:
Friesian genealogy is its own animal. A part that many non-Friesians struggle with is that from a certain timeframe on the surnames are patronymic.
Some sources that might be useful for you:
The first link is the main website and database for genealogy purposes in Germany, all volunteer-driven. Consider uploading your tree to gedbas.genealogy.net in the hope of connecting with others who research the same family.
http://www.auswanderer-oldenburg.de/
I did a quick search, is this person part of your tree?
http://www.auswanderer-oldenburg.de/getperson.php?personID=I24087&tree=Auswanderer
And this is Hermine Carls nee Tapken: http://www.auswanderer-oldenburg.de/getperson.php?personID=I91851&tree=Auswanderer
Other emigrants from the parish of Bockhorn: http://www.auswanderer-oldenburg.de/showsource.php?sourceID=S746&tree=Auswanderer
It is a website of volunteers who transcribe information of the few surviving census records in Germany and especially Northern Germany along the coast. As a non-member you have to wait 15 seconds before you can start a search, you can see the countdown in the screen. (Datenbank = database) The transcription is not complete and won't be for many years, but records get added frequently, so check back regularily. They also have a forum where you can post and ask whether records exist for the places you are looking at and whether anybody is working on it. (Again, it is all done by volunteers.)
https://www.leer.de/Bildung-Kultur/Kultur/Stadtarchiv
Snail-mail adress
Stadtarchiv
Rathausstraße 1
26789 Leer (Ostfriesland)
Germany
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Treaty
The construction of Wilhelmshaven led to lots of upheaval in the general area. Farmers who used to live in the area that became Wilhelmshaven moved away, often using the money they got for buying farms within a 30 mile radius. This was a major push factor for emigration from the general area, those who wanted to sell their farms and hop on a ship overseas or move east suddenly had solvent buyers. At the same time the construction site drew a lot of workers from all over Prussia, many of them male and single. The construction site was a bit like a wild-west gold mining town, really rattling things up in this area where things had a habit of changing very slowly.
It is "the" book to read if you are interested in Northern Germany, similarily to reading Gone With the Wind, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn as well as Uncle Tom's Hut when you are interested in the Old South of the USA.
There are two translations of this book available in English. I've been told the Denis Jackson translation from 1996 is better, this translation is titled "The Dykemaster".
https://www.amazon.com/Dykemaster-Angel-Classics-Theodor-Storm/dp/0946162549/
But the kindle version of the other translation named "The Rider on the White Horse" is only 2 USD, so if you don't care for a few spelling errors you could get this.
https://www.amazon.com/Rider-White-Horse-Review-Classics/dp/1590173015/
However if you love to read for fun I would recommend picking up this collection of stories by Theodor Storm:
https://www.amazon.com/Rider-White-Horse-Theodor-Storm/dp/1604597410
This book of selected Grimm's fairy tales is one of my favorites for learning. The grammar is pretty straightforward, even if some of the terms are a bit dated.
They may be fairy tales, but they're the original Grimm versions, which means they're really metal. When dismembered bodies start falling down the chimney, you know you're not in Disneyland.
I'm reading The Woman on the Stairs by Bernhard Schlink, originally written in German and I'm reading the French translation.
I was really excited because Schlink wrote The Reader, which is an absolutely brilliant book about reckoning with responsibility during the Holocaust. I have never cried so much as I did with that book. The Woman on the Stairs is fine, but I'm a little disappointed as I feel like I'm trudging through it to get to the end.
The Dwarves by [Markus Heitz](http://www.amazon.com/Dwarves-Markus-Heitz/dp/0316049441/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331151241&sr=8-1]
The Black Company by Glen Cook
It's a bit of a younger read, I think the target audience is young adults or teenagers.
There are great little sketches littered throughout it which I've always enjoyed.
A great book with sketches in it is Rumo by Walter Mooers. He's a German cartoonist and wrote several great reads. They're light hearted, but still insightful. Less illustrated than the Edge Chronicles, but a bit better quality I would argue.
If you're interested in checking them out, here's some quick info I pulled up!
The Edge Chronicles
Example: http://theedgechronicles.wikia.com/wiki/Sky_Ships?file=Skyshipmapgalerider.png
Walter Moers
Rumo
Sorry about the excessive response, I just have always loved these books to death, easily some of my favorite reads of all time. That's coming from a huge fantasy fanatic that actually read through the entire Silmarillion like it was a damn history text.
Hello, hello.
I published my first novel - Monsters of Elsewhere - in digital and paperback editions on the 21st December. So far so good, in terms of sales and whatnot.
Here be the blurb:
There is a land – let's call it Elsewhere – that is in no small amount of trouble. Giant wolves are tearing villages apart, a monster king is bringing his army across the sea to capture the legendary Hall of Glass, and the High Lord has completely disappeared.
Henry Whistler was eight when he got lost at a bus station in Hounslow. There his adventure began. For that was when he met the exiled invisible man, the monster swordsman, and the girl with the bright red hair.
Now a grown-up, Henry's childhood adventure is a faded memory... until his fiancée vanishes. Until he is drawn into another world. Until he is pursued by a blind assassin – with only a monster and a dead man for company – across a land that is in no small amount of trouble.
It's available on lots of stores, including Amazon, B&N, Kobo, and iTunes for $4.99.
However I have just put up a post in the main Fantasy forum here on Reddit explaining that I'm giving away free copies of the ebook to Redditors. Click here to see that post
There are no strings attached whatsoever. I'm just trying to increase my audience, and offering some free copies to a selected audience seemed like a sensible way to do that.
Hope people are okay with that... I was, after all, trying to follow Rule #1 of this community :)
I know you didn't want travel guides, but how about this one about Kafka's Prague or a literary guide to the city? They might also give you some ideas for other similar books.
Strong recommendation for David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (Dutch clerk in late 18th/early 19th century Dejima, lots of depth, gorgeous prose) and for Walter Moers's Rumo and his Miraculous Adventures (fantastical but oddly profound; I'd pick it up even if it doesn't sound like something you'd enjoy). I finished both of these very recently and they were amazing. They hopped right on my list of favourite books, if I'm honest.
Otherwise, I'd very much recommend my all-time favourites: Le Petit Prince (in French or English), Under Milk Wood, Cloud Atlas, and To Kill a Mockingbird (which is always worth a re-read, too).
I included Amazon links so that you know exactly which books I'm talking about, but please consider buying from local bookshops!
Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures, by Walter Moers. Available in the original German too. Absolutely one of the most startlingly creative and fun stories I've ever read.
Read a few others by him too, The City of Dreaming Books is similarly fantastic, as was The Alchemaster's Apprentice.
I started with the book: German Short Stories for Beginners, by My Daily German. I like it a lot because after each paragraph, they give the definitions of a few words used. They also keep using those words throughout the story so it helps to remember them. I have it on Kindle so translating other words is easy.
German Short Stories for Beginners + Audio Download: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1646068769/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_-VcYDbGCT4XE3
Totally. I liked Rumo: And His Miraculous Adventures even better.
Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada was written at the time and based off an actual nazi file. It follows a husband and wife who begin a non-violent resistance campaign after their son is killed on the front. One of my favorites.
This was the version I borrowed from my local library. I couldn't tell you if it's the most accurate translation, but I was certainly able to understand what was being written.
I happen to have two different translations of this very book right next to me.
On this amazon listing for the book, it lists the translator right next to the author near the top of the page "Thomas Common (Translator) "
I found Walter Kauffman on amazon, and you can get his translation of "TSZ" through The Portable Nietzsche right there on Amazon in paperback, kindle or library binding formats.
Enjoy! As I have.
If you’re looking for a good fiction, [Steppenwolf(https://www.amazon.com/Steppenwolf-Novel-Picador-Modern-Classics/dp/1250074827)’s titular character is someone you might relate to.
Hmm, yeah that's a bit trickier. Some ideas:
Not sure if any of these will be helpful - I wish I had something better to suggest! If only the world had more Assimil lol.
Edit: formatting and comment on last link.
I would recommend the Zamonia series by Walter Moers; Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures, The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear and The City of Dreaming Books. It's incredibly imaginative and great story-telling.
I am reading The Dark Monk: A Hangman's Daughter Tale and By Slanderous Tongues as well as a dog-training type of book that specifically targets Dachshunds.
Since hubby wants to use the kindle (we're down to one after my kindle died, sadness) to read GoT, I'm not really sure what I'll read next :)
Ok so just try this book its my favorite book and is like tolkien if he were on LSD
https://www.amazon.com/Rumo-Miraculous-Adventures-Walter-
Yes.
https://www.amazon.com/Language-Birds-Norbert-Scheuer/dp/1910376639/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484572720&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=the+language+of+birds+norbnert+scheuer
I'm a little late to the party, but I'm a longtime lurker and I just created an account to chime in with a few recommendations:
Maidenhair - Mikhail Shishkin. Shishkin is a contemporary Russian writer whose work is just beginning to find its way into English translation. The narrator of Maidenhead works in the Swiss immigration service, translating hearings for political asylum. Some of these transcripts form part of the text, alternating with the translator's own stories.
A Country Doctor's Notebook - Mikhail Bulgakov. There's more to Bulgakov than the (deservedly) aforementioned The Master and Margarita. This book is part autobiography and part fiction. The title basically says it all: a doctor in the remote Russian countryside recounts his experiences. It's a realistic tale; absent are the elements of the fantastic for which Bulgakov became famous.
Every Man Dies Alone - Hans Fallada. Inspired by a true story, this is the chilling tale of a Berlin couple who advocate civil disobedience against the Nazis. (Fallada, addicted to drugs and alcohol, wrote this novel in twenty-four days after his release from an asylum. He died not long after.) See also Fallada's The Drinker.
Lucky Jim - Kingsley Amis. I don't know if this qualifies as "a book not too many people know about" but it's probably worth mentioning here. It's the story of a hapless lecturer in medieval history at a small British university that skewers, with merciless satire, any number of British institutions. See also Amis' The Old Devils.
No Saints or Angels - Ivan Klima. Klima is a legend among Czech authors, and this is his most accessible novel. It's the story of a divorcee in Prague and the lives she is responsible for: her elderly, widowed mother, her terminally ill ex-husband, and her 15-year-old rebellious daughter. It is, at turns, funny and sad, but always poignant. See also Klima's collection of short stories, Lovers For a Day.
The Zamonia-Novels by Walter Moers:
1
2
3
4
They are funny, gruesome, surreal and simply brilliant. Look at the reviews on amazon. Especially Rumo and The City of the Dreaming Books were unputdownable.
TG is 180 capped :) Lots of those and I have couple of champions, paladins, succubus above level 160.
The dwarf series by Markus Heitz. Read it in German but it also has been translated. First book https://www.amazon.com/Dwarves-Markus-Heitz/dp/0316049441/ there are actually five. The last one has not been translated yet, but it lost some quality. Read it after surgery in hospital, even while hospitals are boring as shit the fifth book didn't help too much :)
the 'Dwarves' series, by Markus Heitz
http://www.amazon.com/The-Dwarves-Markus-Heitz/dp/0316049441
The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink There's a movie, but it doesn't actually capture the novel.
http://www.amazon.com/Spake-Zarathustra-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486406636
It just so happens that I have the same book series in Spanish, French, and Italian. I found you the same book in German on Amazon, although this one's folktales.
Es fügt sich, dass ich die gleiche Bücherserie auf Spanisch, Französisch, und Italien habe. Ich habe das gleiches Buch auf Deutsch für dich auf Amazon gefunden, obwohl dieses Buch über den Märchen ist.
Here is the Brother's Grimm book that I have.
Did you read Andreas Eschbach - lord of all things? Realy good book with a similar theory in it.
Check out the book Lord of All Things. It's not fantastic, but it's similar to your prompt. All on earth though.
"Master of the Judgment Day"
Or as Amazon calls it:
The Zamonia Books by Walter Moers. Seriously.
Start with either
Rumo,
City of Dreaming Books
or
Captain Bluebear
Don't let the cover illustrations fool you: these are seriously entertaining, thrilling, funny and sometimes brutal reads (check the commentaries on amazon).
SOLVED! You’ve unknowingly helped me make the connection I’ve been trying to make for months. The book is Rumo: and his miraculous adventures, by Walter Moers. Link for the curious:
Rumo: And His Miraculous Adventures https://www.amazon.com/dp/1585679364/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_hnooDbARCWXWS
Thank you so much for the help everyone
http://www.amazon.com/Spake-Zarathustra-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486406636