Since it’s classics week the giveaway will be a classic. Classics is something many people already own. In order to make sure that you can win books you do not already own One World Classics offers to two people to pick and mix any two classics from their catalogue.
Interested? Then hop over to Lizzy’s blog for details .
The giveaway is part of German Literature Month.
Today is the bicentennial of Kleist’s death. I had a few different ideas for this post but finally, after having read The Duel – Der Zweikampf, one of the very few of his novellas I hadn’t read before, I decided on focusing on that. The initial idea was to write about his death. Since his death and the novella The Duel have elements in common, it’s only fair, to at least mention it.
Kleist shot himself on November 21 1811, near the Kleiner Wannsee, after having shot his friend Henriette Vogel. This suicide was premeditated and even announced. He wrote letters to different people mentioning it and so did Henriette. It has been argued that one of the reasons why his grave is hard to find and almost hidden isn’t that he was a suicide but that he was also a murderer. I don’t think we can call him that, what he did was assisted suicide. Henriette wanted to die with him and, as was found out later, had reasons. The autopsy showed that she suffered from terminal cancer. In any case, what is striking, is the violence of their deaths which leads me back to The Duel. One of the most striking features of Kleist’s prose, apart from being very unique, and at times challenging to read, is the omnipresence of violence. Rape, abuse, murder, fights, duels, you name, it’s there. The novella The Duel is no exception. The story that is set in the 14th century starts with a murder. From the beginning there is a suspect only he seems to have an alibi. He indicates to have spent the night with a noble woman, a widow. In order to save himself, he reveals her name which has severe consequences. Upon hearing what their sister has done, her brothers beat her up and chase her from their home. She seeks refuge at the castle of another noble man, one who had asked her to marry him before. Convinced of her innocence he wants to duel with the man who has brought shame upon her and in doing so prove that she is not guilty. Since he is convinced she is innoncent, he is convinced the other one will die.
For those who will still read this novella I’m not going to reveal the outcome of the fight. What struck me is that it is believed that a duel equals a judgment of God and that the outcome isn’t only a means to get satisfaction but will show the irrevocable truth. The duel should help clarify who is lying. It’s aim is not a payback for an inflicted injustice or a libel but it will, through God, reveal the truth.
The story felt very archaic, and as I already said, I was, as always with Kleist, amazed how violent the story is. I’m far less familiar with his plays. I think some of them are even comedies. Kleist is a fascinating writer because there is something mysterious in what he writes. His characters react in a very intense way and one of the predominant themes is always sexuality which is linked to violence. The aggression between men is intense but it’s far more intense between men and women.
The Duel is one of Kleist’s shorter novellas and not a bad starting point if you have never read him. My favourite is The Marquise of O. An incredible story of a woman who doesn’t know how she got pregnant and is looking for the father of her child.
The Duel is part of The Art of the Novella series by Melvillehouse Publishing and in this series part of The Duel set of five novellas with the same title from different authors.
Have you read any of them and which one did you like? How do you think Kleist’s book compares to other duel stories?
For those who read German, I attached this link where you can find his letters. Alle Briefe
The review is part of German Literature Month – Week 4 Kleist and other Classics
When I did the wrap up for the first week I was amazed about the contributions and thought that the enthusiasm might die down further into the month. I’m glad I was wrong with this assumption. The number of reviews and the variety of authors and books that have been chosen is as great as during week I and II. I would really like to thank all of you who contributed and help making this event a huge success.
The complete links and participants list can be found HERE.
Lizzy contributed two posts, one in which Publisher’s and Authors recommend their favourite German books and the other is a review of Julya Rabinowich’s Splithead which sounds like a most unusual book.
The Magic Mountain of German Literature 3 (Publisher and Author Recommendations)
I reviewed a short story collection by Peter Stamm that I liked a lot and also reviewed Vicki Baum’s classic bestseller Grand Hôtel. While it isn’t as refined as Joseph Roth’s Hotel Savoy it is still a surprisingly interesting and character driven book.
In Strange Gardens and Other Stories by Peter Stamm
Grand Hôtel – Menschen im Hotel by Vicki Baum
Danielle (A Work in Progress) reviewed The Murder Farm by Andrea Maria Schenkel which she found a fascinating and unusual crime story in the vein of Capote’s In Cold Blood.
Emma (Book Around the Corner) read Short Stories by Stefan Zweig. The stories had all a historical theme. She did enjoy it but maybe not as much as his non-historical stories.
Ted (BookeyWookey) read The Artificial Silk Girl by Irmgard Keun and liked it a lot. The review captures the frothy playful tone that covers a dark undercurrent very well. The many quotes included in the review give a good impression of the novel (a favourite of mine).
Grace (Books Without Any Pictures) re-read The Trial by Kafka which she thinks a most unusual and absolute must-read book. She likes it better than most of his short stories.
Richard (Caravana de Recuerdos) read Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann after having been urged by a few people. He appreciated it a lot but liked it more for its ideas than its style. His review gives an excellent impression of the many interwoven themes of this complex book.
Jackie (Farm Lane Books) came to the conclusion that neither Jelinek’s Piano Teacher nor Grass’ The Tin Drum are to her liking. On Jelinek’s the Piano Teacher and Grass’ The Tin Drum. Judging from the comments, she is far from alone.
Guy (His Futile Preoccupations) read and reviewed Where Do We Go From Here? by Doris Dörrie which seems to have been a very good read, in typical Dörrie style “With piercing wit and a generous view of human nature.” Guy also read and reviewed The Snowman by Jörg Fauser. A cult classic of gritty German crime which – to quote Guy – “is strongest in its depiction of the seedy underbelly of life –the cheap hotels, the filthy toilets (…). There’s an intense authenticity to these scenes, and a sour truth to Fred’s realization that he’s small-time for a reason.”
Rise (in lieu of a field guide ) underlined in his review of Rock Crystal by Adalbert Stifter how crystal clear Stifter’s prose is. A captivating story written in a flawless style, concrete and precise like poetry, as he writes.
Fay (Read, Ramble) read Poems by Rilke which impressed her or in her own words “One reading of selected poems gives a sense of striking imagery and intense artistic purpose but not enough mastery of Rilke’s art to make further commentary worthwhile. Rilke is a poet who deserves several careful readings. All I know is that the more I came to know Rilke’s voice, the better I liked him, after a hesitant start. It is a voice to listen to again.”
Rikki (Rikki’s Teleidoscope) read Maybe This Time by Alois Hotschnig in German. She writes “I read this is German and I don’t think I have ever come across a writer who writes in such a precise way and who conjured such a clear picture of what is going on.”
Scott W. (seraillon) reviewed Beautiful Days – Schöne Tage by Franz Innerhofer. In his in-depth review he writes about the unusual combination of a seemingly cheerful title with the topic of child abuse. The book seems to be well worth reading, complex and arresting.
Priya (Tabula Rasa) liked Hotel Savoy by Joseph Roth a lot and recommends it highly.
Alex (The Children’s War) rediscovered and reviewed an old children’s classic Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner and reviewed A Song For Summer by Eva Ibbotson. Ibbotson’s book offers a wide variety of unusual, typical Ibbotoson characters and despite a WWII topic stays light and hopeful.
Parrish (The Parrish Lantern) introduced a great book on German poetry, including authors like Else Lasker-Schüler as well as Jan Wagner. The Faber Book of 20th Century German Poems. He included the whole list of poets, a poem by Elke Erb and a lot of other information.
Anthony (Time’s Flow Stemmed) calls Old Masters by Thomas Bernhard a flawless book. It seems also a very interesting book and one that was echoed by two other reviews (in lieu of a filed guide and seraillon). Bernard’s character criticizes Austrian art and artists, among them Stifter. The book could be called a rant but Anthony chooses to call it a tirade.
Tony (Tony’s Reading List) What happens when someone reads Kafka’s The Castle and participates in German Literature Month? Given he is an imaginative person it might look a little bit like this Das Schloss – The Play Act One – Das Schloss – The Play Act Two – Das Schloss – The Play Act Three Das Schloss – The Play (Director’s Cut). Tony writes his own “Castle Play ” and adds a review of Kafka’s book.
Liz (Tortoisebook) liked the sad but beautiful The Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe. She says “This book is a lovely read, beautifully told and achingly heartbreaking.”
Vishy (Vishy’s Blog) reviewed the original sheep crime novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann which read as if “Agatha Christie had rewritten The Wind in the Willows“.
Poor Daryl (Who Killed Lemmy Caution?) was ill but is recovering. Soon we will read her review of Klausen by Andreas Meier. Review on Its Way
Week three gives us a slightly puzzled Tom (Wuthering Expectations ) who after having read Wedekind’s Spring Awakening during week II thought he had seen the height of Austrian treatment of sexuality in plays but no – he hadn’t read the La Ronde/Der Reigen by Arthur Schnitzler yet. He was quite amused by the use of … to cover up the ongoing activities and wonders how they handled this during the play.
Week III
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And here are the winners of the Friedrich Glauser giveaway courtesy of Bitter Lemon Press.
One copy each of In Matto’s Realm goes to
Neer from A Hot Cup of Pleasure and
Richard from Caravana de Recuerdos
Happy reading Neer and Richard!
Please send me your address via beautyisasleepingcat at gmail dot com.
The giveaway is part of German Literature Month.
The next giveaway will take place on Wednesday 23 November 2011.
The picture is taken from the latest film version Effi Briest (2009) starring Julia Jentsch and Sebastian Koch as Effi and Instetten. Here is more about the movie including trailers and pictures.
This is the final week of our Effi Briest Group Read. The questions have been provided by Lizzy. Please, if you haven’t read the book, don’t read the answers. They are not spoiler free.
Why do you think Effi kept Crampas’s letters?
I was wondering exactly this the whole time. Why did she keep those letters? On the other hand it is understandable. They were probably full of flatteries and compliments that she enjoyed re-reading. Knowing Instetten it was very unlikely he would search her things. It was a pure accident that he found them. I think it clearly shows that she thought he really wasn’t too interested in her or she wouldn’t have been so careless. If she’d been married to a man who seemed to have been in love with her and very jealous, I doubt, she would have kept them.
Did Innstetten have a choice?
Yes, I really think he did have a choice. The man he called, who would be his second, advised against it as well. Hee could just have pretended he never found those letters. In the end, I believe, he doubts his own choice. If he had found out while it happened, I think one could debate, whether or not, he had a choice, but six years later…
Are there any events in this final section that make you feel outraged? Is that how Fontane wants you to feel?
I was not outraged, it made me very sad. My feeling for Effi was stronger than a feeling of outrage. I thought it was utterly pointless. Wasted lives, for nothing else but pride.
Is there a villain in this piece?
The mother is the worst character, closely followed by Instetten. I could imagine that her decision to be so hard on Effi was because she wondered how Effi could have cheated on a husband she would have loved to have. But precisely this history between her and Instetten might have been part of the source why Instetten never really opened up to Effi. I think that a lot of social injustice could have been stopped earlier if the members of a given society didn’t tacitly endure the rules – or even reinforce them – and I find it especially horrible when mothers think their daughters or sons should go through the same experiences they had to go through, no matter how bad they were. It’s as if the mother was thinking “If I was able to endure it, you should be able too.”
The lot of the real-life Effi, Elizabeth von Plotho, was a much happier one. Why do you think Fontane made the outcome for Effi much harder?
To prove a point, I guess. He clearly condemns the ways of Prussian society, the regulations and rules. To make it crystal clear the ending had to be more drastic.
Were you surprised by the ending?
The first time I read it I was shocked. I don’t know how I thought it would end but not the way it did. Not after such a long time. I’m outraged to think what consequences adultery had for women in these days.
Where would you place Effi in the pantheon of C19th fictional adulteresses?
I found Mme Bovary very annoying and never really had any feeling for her. In the case of Anna Karenina I thought the book was so much more about Vronsky and Lewin than about her but to a certain degree she is more tragic as she loves Vronsky. Effi doesn’t love Crampas. The tragedy in Effi is very different. I think what makes it so harrowing is that it seems so pointless. More than 6 years have passed since the affair and if Instetten hadn’t found the letters accidentally, nothing would have happened.
Do you think you would ever reread Effi Briest?
Yes, I think so. In a few years, I can see myself re-read it.
This is the second week of our Effi Briest Group Read. This week the questions have been sent out by me.
What strikes you most in this novel, what do you like or dislike the most?
What strikes me personally most is that I don’t dislike anything. I find no superfluous words, no false tones in this novel. I think it’s an incredibly accomplished book that is as moving the second time as it was the first time I read it.
I really love everything about the book but I do have pretty strong reactions towards some of the characters. Instetten is for me, this time, a pompous insufferable git. I truly hate people who think they are superior. He patronizes Effi wherever he can. He is very rigid and follows rules and orders.
Do you think Fontane likes Effi? Whose side is he on?
I was wondering very often and think, he must like her a great deal or I wouldn’t feel for her. As a person she is quite opposite to myself or people I’m usually interested in, now as well as when I was 17. She isn’t introspective but fun-seeking. I think if Fontane didn’t like her, I wouldn’t feel the way I feel about her. She is a bit like a little animal that needs protection.
What do you make of the story of the Chinese and the haunted house. How would you interpret it? And what about Crampas’ interpretation?
I’m surprised how important this story is as this is something I had completely forgotten although I love a good ghost story. I think Effi is extremely isolated and all sorts of things play tricks on her mind. I also think it’s foreshadowing things to come but for fear of spoilers I’m not going to elaborate on this.
Crampas interpretation strikes me as spot on and it does enforce my negative feelings for Instetten. Wanting to educate or drilling Effi is so like him.
Descriptions are an important part in Effi Briest. How do you like them and how important do you think they are for the novel?
This question is tied to the next one. I had a feeling that the novel moves back and forth from outdoor to indoor scenes and in the outdoor scenes the descriptions are very important.
The region in which Kessin is located bears a lot of dangers for humans. There are the marshes that can swallow you, the snow can cut you off from the outside, the storms make ships sink. This seems very symbolic and full of foreboding.
The contrast between the loveliness of Effi’s family’s garden compared to the bleak landscape around Kessin emphasizes her loneliness. She would need a welcoming home but the house she lives in scares her as well.
The descriptions of the outside world also seem to point to things to come and the night in which Effi and Crampas sit together in the carriage and almost sink into the “Schloon” (that’s the German expression and I have no clue what the corresponding English word is, I guess marsh) seems full of foreboding.
It struck me while I was reading this novel how Fontane pairs descriptions of cozy and scary. Did you notice this as well and if so, what did you make of this?
For a tormented soul like Effi’s the idea that feet are running over her head and that she is all alone in the dark unwelcoming house in Kessin is very scary. I found the whole novel much more “gothic” this time around than when I first read it. The contrast to her family home, in which everything was cozy is very striking.
Another scene where I saw this pairing was when she walks in the wood with Crampas and it begins to snow. It might be a scary idea usually to be snowed in but Effi mentions a poem set druing the war, in which an old woman was snowed in and the snow-covered her up so the soldiers couldn’t find her. The idea warms Effi, she feels that being snowed in means being sheltered from the outside world.
What do you think of Crampas?
I didn’t think Crampas was such an unlikable character but he is a very irresponsible man. He should have thought of Effi and not start something with her. Of course he is trapped in a loveless marriage as well but he doesn’t seem to love Effi either. He is clearly a player. He likes to break rules and says so early on. I think it’s maybe as much about having an affair for him as about doing something forbidden. Still in the scenes in which we see them together he is far nicer to Effi than her husband and she seems a more mature person in his presence, not a little child that fears to be criticized at any moment.
Fontane chose to describe more than one Christmas in this novel, what do you think Christmas signifies?
Christmas is traditionally a family holiday. There is more than one Christmas in the novel and they are all slightly different. They do mark the passing of time but also show what it means for Effi to have left Hohen-Cremmen. Her first Christmas is a very lonely one. The second is slightly better but she misses her family. What struck me is that there was no attempt at spending Christmas together. I found that unrealistic. I can’t imagine a reason why they didn’t visit Effi’s parents. It felt like a punishment when I read it, as if she was an outcast.
What kind of mother is Effi?
I think she is quite a devoted mother. The child turns her into a grown up but, as it was usual then, someone else, in this case Roswitha, spends much more time with the child.
Where will the novel go from here? What do you think will happen next?
As I have read it before I’ll skip the question of course.
Please leave a link to your post in the comments section or in the Mr. Linky. (To see the participants, you have to click on Mr Linky).
There are two German crime writers who are more famous than most others in Germany and these are Charlotte Link and Petra Hammesfahr. While Charlotte Link is probably by far the most read German author she has so far not been translated into English. That’s why I was so pleased when I saw that finally it’s going to happen. Her novel The Other Child – Das andere Kind will be published at the beginning of 2012. Here is the blurb:
A suspenseful and atmospheric new psychological crime novel from ‘Germany’s most successful living female author’
An old farm, a deserted landscape, a dark secret from times past with fatal consequences for the present. In the tranquil northern seaside town of Scarborough, a student is found cruelly murdered. For months, the investigators are in the dark, until they are faced with a copy-cat crime.
Charlotte Link is such a good example for another type of genre that German writers excel at and that is historical fiction. The amount of books and authors is amazing.
Link is famous for her psychological novels in the vein of Mary Higgins Clark and for her long family sagas and historical novels. The Other Child which I have not read yet – I wanted to but 700 pages were not feasible for German Literature Month – combines both. The story is set in 1970 – 2008 and during WWII in England. Young women are being killed, the crimes resemble each other and the trace to the killer seems to go back to WWII. One of the themes is the children that were sent to the country during the war.
Link has an easy but very gripping way of writing. I’ve read many of her psychological thrillers of women who are being stalked by ex-lovers. Her world is often one in which men are predators, but her descriptions are great and atmospherical and the pace is appealing. If this is really, as it seems, her first novel in English, I’m not sure how good a choice it is. It’s cunning to test the waters with a genre blend, I suppose, because if this book is loved, chances are high that her psychological thrillers and her historical novels will be equally liked.
For German Literature Month I picked up a slim volume of short stories by Petra Hammesfahr. While these stories have not been translated, Hammesfahr’s novels are slowly available in English and seem as succesful as they are in her native Germany. While Link is strong on plot and pace, Hammesfahr is even stronger on psychology. Whenever I start one of her novels, I don’t want to stop. I had the same experience when reading her short stories. Accurate descriptions, psychological insights and a surprising ending. Good people turn into criminals because the monotony and madness of daily life becomes too much to bear or highly dysfunctional people become delinquent because there was just this one moment that made them snap.
Hammesfahr, unlike Link, combines the very ordinary with the uncanny, the sick, the revolting. The outcast who may not be guilty, the housewife who may be.
The novels available in English so far are The Sinner – Die Sünderin and The Lie – Die Lüge. I would hope that others will be translated. Most of all Der stille Herr Genardy.
Of the three German crime novelists I reviewed, Noll is the most literary, Link, the most mainstream, and Hammesfahr is somewhere in between. For you to choose what you prefer. I like them all, depending on my mood.
The review is part of German Literature Month Week II – Crime
This post has two parts. First is the wrap-up of Week I of our German Literature Month – focussing on literature from Germany. Please do not just skip it. It’s a tribute to all our participants. We have already seen some really amazing contributions and I would like to thank all of you for this.
There have been a lot of interesting lists and contributions made during October. They are HERE. This is the wrap-up of Week I.
Here are all of this weeks’ links with my impressions:
Week I
Lizzy has made a post on how to find German books in translation and a review of a very unique sounding book by Alina Bronsky.
The Magic Mountain of German Literature
The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky
Caroline – I have compiled a post with 14 women writers that shouldn’t be missed and reviewed Sebald’s book on the absence of the description of the destruction of German cities during WWII from German post-war literature. The book leads us to the Böll readalong on November 26.
14 Women Writers You Shouldn’t Miss
On the Natural History of Destruction – Luftkrieg und Literatur by W. G. Sebald
The Participants
Neer (A Hot Cup of Pleasure) shares her German Literature Month inspired Wishlist. That’s always a risk with events like this. You may end up with far more books than before.
Christina from Ardent Reader hopes to be able to keep up with her Reading plans.
Danielle (AWork in Progress) introduces her choices. A list with descriptions. Plans for German Literature Month
Emma (Book Around the Corner) wrote an enthusiastic review of Fame by Daniel Kehlmann that she calls a “strange exhilarating book”.
sakura (chasing bawa) is thrilled by her discovery of Dark Matter by Juli Zeh and adds (after having been tracked down by the German Literature Month Police , i.e. me) an Introduction.
Jackie (Farm Lane Books) wrote a very appealing review of the WWII novel Death of the Adversary by Hans Keilson. Not an easy read, highly literary but rewarding.
Guy Savage (His Futile Preoccupations) dethrones Goethe in his musings on On Goethe’s Elective Affinities and reestablishes him again – at least in parts – in On Goethe’s Elective Affinities Part II. The review is to follow.
Rise (in lieu of a field guide) reviewed Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck and compares it to the passage of time chapter in Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse.
Harvey (Leben, Kochen, Bier u. Fussball) offers a list with interesting choices Introduction with choices.
Eibhlin (Mar gheall ar a léim) shares he reading plans in Eibhlin’s reading plans.
Fay (Read, Ramble) reviews Herta Müller – Land of Green Plums describing how she wanted to give up after a little while but was rewarded by her persistence.
Rikki (Rikki’s Teleidoscope) enjoyed The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky as much as Lizzy. She captures the unusual voice of the narrator very well.
Susanna P (Susie Bookworm) has added her reading plans German Lit Month Kick off. She already read Lotte in Weimar and is about to pick something else soon.
Priya (Tabula Rasa) shares her reading plans Plans.
Alex The Children’s War wrote an in-depth review of The Oppermann’s by Lion Feuchtwanger. He writes “What makes The Oppermanns so interesting is that it has the distinction of being the first story of its kind to tell about life under the Nazis and how it affected people opposed to Hitler.”
Parrish (The Parrish Lantern) wrote a thoughtful review On The Joys of Morphinism by Fallada. Introducing first the life of the author and then writing about the book.
Mel u (The Reading Lives) announces German Literature Month and reviews a very interesting short story by Gerstacker, a lesser known author. His review is proof that it is worth looking for the lesser known. Announcing German Literature Month and Short Story by Gerstacker
Tony (Tony’s Reading List) has really liked Alois Hotschnig’s – Maybe This Time and already read it twice but he doubts that he will re-read All the Lights by Clemens Meyer. Although he didn’t mind reading it at all, he doesn’t seem to be convinced it’s all that literary.
Liz (Tortoisebook) shares he reading plans. German Literature Month Plans
Vishy (Vishy’s Blog) has reviewed a wide range of short stories and novellas. A really wide range. Both Lizzy and myself were stunned. This is pretty much an introduction to the most important German writers. A Wide Range of German Short Stories
Stu (Winstonsdad’s Blog) I was equally amazed about the wide range of books reviewed by Stu. There are some wonderful books to discover here. An early novel by the Nobel Prize winner Nadirs by Herta Müller , a novella by the author of Perfume The Pigeon by Patrick Süskind, a poetical novella Jarmila by Ernst Weiss and a novel of a Swiss writer A Perfect Waiter by Alain Claude Sulzer.
Amateur Reader (Tom) Wuthering Expectations wrote one post on the melancholic story Flagman Thiel by Gehart Hauptmann (also reveiwed by Vishy) and two posts on Hauptmann’s play Gerhart Hauptmann-Before Daybreak – Gerhart Hauptmann’s characters.
Week I
The following people have posted so far, some freestyle, some answering our questions.
Yes, we were also featured on the web.
Melville House Press on What to drink when reading Heinrich Böll
The Millions announce German Literature Month
kulturplease announces German Literature Month
love german books – Kid – On German Literature Month
The Victory Stitch – Peggy If I were reading
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And here, finally, the winners of the Heinrich Böll giveaway courtesy of Melville House Press.
The winner of The Train Was on Time and The Clown is
Priya from Tabula Rasa
The winner of Group Portrait with Lady and Billards at Half-Past Nine is
Guy from His Futile Preoccupations
And the winner of The Irish Journal and The Safety Net is
Stu from Winstonsdad’s Blog
Happy reading Priya, Guy and Stu!
Please send me your address via beautyisasleepingcat at gmail dot com.
The giveaway is part of German Literature Month.
The next giveaway will take place on Wednesday 9 November 2011. Remember… It’s crime week…. there are some great books to be won. And, yes, those who won already can still participate.
Beauty is a Sleeping Cat 