Oct31
I’m going to be joining German Literature Month (here and here) next month, and will be reading some of the following writers (entirely novellas and short stories – perhaps a few plays):
- Jeremias Gotthelf
- Musaeus
- Ludwig Tieck
E.T.A. Hoffmann- Jean Paul (Friedrich Richter)
- Hermann Sudermann
- Franz Grillparzer
- Eduard Mörike
- Adalbert Stifter
- Helene Böhlau
- Clara Viebig
- Eduard von Keyserling
- Jakob Wassermann
- Adalbert von Chamisso
- Friedrich Schlegel
- Karl Immermann
Heinrich Heine- Paul Heyse
OK, I think that’ll do for now. It might take longer than a month. – I’ve read 3 of these writers before.
Also, since I’ve finally finished Tristram Shandy, I can read a book I’ve long been wanting to read, which is E.T.A Hoffmann’s The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr.
I’d like to read several of these authors “one of these days,” but Gotthelf is probably the only one I’m likely to consider for German Lit Month II. Musil’s prob. going to provide my first selection for the event, but your list reminds me how weak I am in Germ lang lit in general.
By coinicdence, I’ve just posted my first review for the month – on a couple of Stifter’s novellas. I’m hoping to gradually move into the contemporary scene though
Well, I am weak in German lit too – c19th in particular – so some correction is in order. Anyway, I have to stick there, since the latest German novella I have seems to be Stefan Zweig.
Unlike my usual practice of avoiding the best writers as much as possible, I think I might dive straight in with Heinrich Heine.
I finished a Heine poem last week for the poetry part of this week – satirical, but a little too humorous and with not enough bite for my liking…
Thanks for joining us. That’s an ambitious list. Keyserling in English? Is there a translation of any of his work? I like him very much, think he is similar but better than Fontane.
It seems ambitious, but since it’s largely novellas perhaps it’s manageable. The Keyserling is a novella called Gay Hearts, from a collection of early c20th German novellas.
My request – the point of this list is to encourage easily ignorable requests, yes? – is to hear about the Sudermann. He first caught my eye in that wild, weird Powys book you have linked over to the left.
Well, ok, I’ll give Sudermann a go – but there’s something about him (his name perhaps?) which makes me think he’s going to be boring. – Also, I must read Artzibashev(?)’s Sanine at some point, since I bought a copy a while ago.
Unbearably boring, yes, that is my assumption.