I want to read a book in German...

[Amy in TX]

I studied German in high school (30 years ago!). What I have mostly lost is vocabulary, and I don't think I had a great knowledge of idioms. I'm remembering the grammar quite well now as I help my kids study it.

 

Can anyone suggest something to start with? Obviously I'd need to go slowly, with a dictionary. I don't want a children's book or anything "junky"--I'd like decent quality literature but not too complicated. I've recently read "The Reader" in English; thoughts on that or other suggestions?

 

TIA,

[Matryoshka]

When you say you don't want a children's book, would YA be okay? I really liked Tintenherz - I'd say that's firmly YA at least. :tongue_smilie: Kai Meyer is another author that's done a lot of YA lit (much of it fantasy). I'd say most of what I've read in German lately has been YA - I find a lot of the adult stuff to be, well, depressing in tone (like Der Vorleser - I have it but haven't read it - the plot line doesn't appeal, honestly...) Honestly, if you liked The Reader, it might be a good idea to attempt it in the original - it helps a lot if you're already familiar with the story line.

 

A book I really liked was Die neuen Leiden des jungen W. by Ulrich Plenzdorf (supposed to be a modern retelling of Die Leiden des jungen Werthers by Goethe) - takes place in DDR-era East Berlin, a teen runs away from home, squats in an abandoned building and finds Goethe's Werther book, which he reads repeatedly. At some point he dies, and the entire book is the events leading up to that narrated by him from somewhere in the afterlife (he doesn't elaborte what it's like there...). It's short - it does contain some East Berlin slang.

 

I also liked Die unendliche Geschichte and Momo by Michael Ende - yeesh, I seem to have a case of arrested development! I'll ponder if I can come up with anything written for adults...

 

Oh! I've read Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann - that was good! But very very long...

 

I'll pay attention to others' suggestions - it appears I'm in need of some more mature German reading material myself! :tongue_smilie:

[Amy in TX]

I guess I wouldn't rule out YA--I don't read it as a rule (maybe because I tend to dislike fantasy), although I LOVED The Book Thief.

 

Liked The Reader very much; maybe I'll go with that, and I will look into the Goethe retelling as well. And Mann is a good idea too.

 

Thanks, Matroyshka!

 

More suggestions anyone?

[regentrude]

What kinds of books do you like to read in English?

[Ester Maria]

In order to read decent quality literature, your command of the language must be... well, decent quality. ;) It's not language-dependent, it's more the level you have to have attained to be able to truly focus on the greatness of the work and the ideas rather than to get blocked by the language. Picking up something like Goethe is more likely to lead to a burn out than aid at this stage.

 

I say you start with a few quite-schund YA/crime/etc. novels, which use modern and relatively simple language. After those few schund works, when you pretty much get back what you lost and learn to navigate a book in German, you can switch to more "meaty" things and classics without it overwhelming you.

 

You might also look up Liessmann while you're reading German :D, and modern non-fiction in general, the German market is a very, very rich one with regards to the high quality non-fiction.

[regentrude]

OK, I just looked through my bookshelves:

 

authors I like a lot and find very readable:

Stefan Zweig (particularly the biographies- esp. Fouchet- and strenstunden der Menschheit, also the stories)

Herrmann Hesse

 

also Helga Koenigsdorf and Christa Wolf (both East German authors who wrote in communist times; a little background may be necessary to fully appreciate their books)

 

edit: I want to add Bernhard Kellermann (esp. Der Tunnel)- a fictitious story about a railway tunnel built under the Atlantic.

 

I have to admit that I found Thomas Mann tedious (except for Felix Krull) and do not enjoy reading him.

Edited November 20, 2010 by regentrude

[SonshineLearner]

You could be like Nathaniel Bowditch and read the Bible with a good German Grammar book to help you out ;) I think he did Latin, French and Spanish like this :)

[Matryoshka]

Picking up something like Goethe is more likely to lead to a burn out than aid at this stage.

 

LOL - I wasn't suggesting she read the Goethe, but the retelling - which is short, and in quite modern/casual German (with slang, even!) :D

[Ester Maria]

I wasn't suggesting she read the Goethe, but the retelling - which is short, and in quite modern/casual German (with slang, even!) :D

I know. ;) I was speaking in general, being that the OP has requested decent quality works, so I was assuming she might be looking forward to reading classics as well, and those are quite a killer at the beginning in any language.

 

(In fact, didn't I give up German pretty much about that stage... when the school started replacing "Anna and Peter go to school" kind of books with Mann? :lol: Probably.)

[Amy in TX]

What kinds of books do you like to read in English?

 

I like novels/stories from any era--"straightforward" types, e.g. not magical realism or experimental fiction, usually. Favorites: Austen, Chekhov, Katherine Anne Porter, I'm in a hurry but really all kinds.

 

I also like to read history of all kinds, and popular science (think Jared Diamond).

 

I loathe crime thrillers/hardboiled/true crime type stuff. There are a very few mystery writers I enjoy: Dorothy Sayers, Mary Stewart, Agatha Christie.

[Amy in TX]

Picking up something like Goethe is more likely to lead to a burn out...

 

Oh, believe me, I'm not at that level and I know it! I wasn't thinking of starting with Goethe, LOL! When I say "decent quality," I mean I don't want something poorly done, that will teach me bad habits, so to speak. That's why I was thinking of modern stuff, which tends to use simpler language.

 

You might also look up Liessmann while you're reading German :D, and modern non-fiction in general, the German market is a very, very rich one with regards to the high quality non-fiction.

 

Thanks, I will. :)

[Amy in TX]

Thanks! By the way, is Amazon the place to look for works in German, or is there a better/cheaper online source?

[In The Great White North]

I like novels/stories from any era--"straightforward" types, e.g. not magical realism or experimental fiction, usually. Favorites: Austen, Chekhov, Katherine Anne Porter, I'm in a hurry but really all kinds.

 

 

Make it easy on yourself and start with one you already know and like (ie have read in English and enjoyed enough to read again), maybe even something you've read recently with the dc. There's time enough for original German college lit after you've resurrected your German vocabulary.

[Amy in TX]

OK, I just looked through my bookshelves:

 

authors I like a lot and find very readable:

Stefan Zweig (particularly the biographies- esp. Fouchet- and strenstunden der Menschheit, also the stories)

Herrmann Hesse

 

also Helga Koenigsdorf and Christa Wolf (both East German authors who wrote in communist times; a little background may be necessary to fully appreciate their books)

 

edit: I want to add Bernhard Kellermann (esp. Der Tunnel)- a fictitious story about a railway tunnel built under the Atlantic.

 

I have to admit that I found Thomas Mann tedious (except for Felix Krull) and do not enjoy reading him.

 

Meant to thank you for all these suggestions; my internet is going in & out tonight. I'm going to have to get off now...

[Amy in TX]

Make it easy on yourself and start with one you already know and like (ie have read in English and enjoyed enough to read again), maybe even something you've read recently with the dc. There's time enough for original German college lit after you've resurrected your German vocabulary.

 

Yes, that's why I was thinking Der Vorleser. The English version was quite easy reading, and I enjoyed the story.

 

:)

[cathmom]

Die Physiker is a play that I read in college that I really enjoyed, and I remember it being not too difficult. I forget the author. I like reading plays because it's fast for me as it's just dialogue. But I had a friend who told me that it took her longer to read a play for the same reason. ;) So, if you're like her, then forget my suggestion.

[kiana]

I'm currently on my own "re-learn german" quest, so ... what I've been doing is finding translations of works that I have read and enjoyed in English, but have not read in some time. This means that I won't know precisely what each sentence says, or even what happens in each chapter, but I do have a general idea of the plotline, and I also know I'm going to like it :D. I'm still working at it -- my vocabulary stinks -- but I figure once I get a bit better at it I'll switch to books that I don't already know.

[regentrude]

Die Physiker is a play that I read in college that I really enjoyed, and I remember it being not too difficult. I forget the author

 

The author of Die Physiker is Friedrich Duerrenmatt.

[cathmom]

The author of Die Physiker is Friedrich Duerrenmatt.

 

I thought it might be Dürrenmatt but wasn't sure. I still have my copy, I should dig it out and reread it.

[Amy in TX]

and came across a German translation of The God of Small Things. Bought it, took it home, and spent half an hour on the first page. After looking up 50% of the nouns and 50% of the adjectives, it made perfect sense :D. At this rate, I'll be through it in a year, lol. It is lovely writing, though; I could tell I'd like it.

 

I will go ahead and get Der Vorleser, though, and also probably some of the other suggestions.

 

Would anyone working on relearning/improving their German like to check in once in a while with what they're reading and how it's going?

[cathmom]

Would anyone working on relearning/improving their German like to check in once in a while with what they're reading and how it's going?

 

Sure!

[Osmosis Mom]

You could be like Nathaniel Bowditch and read the Bible with a good German Grammar book to help you out ;) I think he did Latin, French and Spanish like this :)

 

I think Amy in TX is Muslim, though, :D

[rlugbill]

Hi,

 

I used to read books in German in college- had a German minor. I read some of Thomas Mann. It's not appropriate for your reading level, although he is a great writer.

 

I would highly suggest Heinrich Boll. He uses fairly simple, yet powerful language a la Hemingway. Wrote many books, during the post WW II period. They aren't too long and fairly straightforward.

 

Here is anther hint. Read it in English first, then read it in German. Then, you will know the story and will be able to follow it.

 

And don't stop to look up words in the dictionary or you will lose the flow of the story but looking up words all the time.

 

Here is another suggestion. Start with comic books. Seriously. They are great for beginning readers because they put the story into context. You pick up contextual clues from the pictures so you can understand it even if you can't understand all the words.

 

Best wishes.

[Amy in TX]

I think Amy in TX is Muslim, though, :D

 

Still a good suggestion, though. :)

[Amy in TX]

Hi,

 

I used to read books in German in college- had a German minor. I read some of Thomas Mann. It's not appropriate for your reading level, although he is a great writer.

 

I would highly suggest Heinrich Boll. He uses fairly simple, yet powerful language a la Hemingway. Wrote many books, during the post WW II period. They aren't too long and fairly straightforward.

 

Here is anther hint. Read it in English first, then read it in German. Then, you will know the story and will be able to follow it.

 

And don't stop to look up words in the dictionary or you will lose the flow of the story but looking up words all the time.

 

Here is another suggestion. Start with comic books. Seriously. They are great for beginning readers because they put the story into context. You pick up contextual clues from the pictures so you can understand it even if you can't understand all the words.

 

Best wishes.

 

Thanks for the Boll suggestion.

 

Looking up words--yes, this does slow the reading down, but it just seems inevitable at the beginning at least. I am planning to start with something easier than Der Gott Der Kleinen Dinge, but I just couldn't resist since I had it with me. I'll keep plugging at it since I like it, but I'm also waiting for Der Vorleser to arrive; that one I have read recently in English.

 

Interesting you should mention comic books. My dh, who is Pakistani, says that he read comic books when he was starting to read English.

[Amy in TX]

nm

[Amy in TX]

Stefan Zweig (particularly the biographies- esp. Fouchet- and strenstunden der Menschheit, also the stories)

 

 

This writer looks very interesting. I'll probably get Selected Stories in English, but I don't think I see (on Amazon) a German volume of stories.

[Amy in TX]

Die Physiker is a play that I read in college that I really enjoyed, and I remember it being not too difficult. I forget the author. I like reading plays because it's fast for me as it's just dialogue. But I had a friend who told me that it took her longer to read a play for the same reason. ;) So, if you're like her, then forget my suggestion.

 

I've ordered this, too. To be honest, it's not the type of thing I would ordinarily read for pleasure, but looking at the samples on Amazon, it looks like an easy read, as you say, and good practice. ;)

[Caitilin]

Thanks for the Boll suggestion.

 

Looking up words--yes, this does slow the reading down, but it just seems inevitable at the beginning at least. I am planning to start with something easier than Der Gott Der Kleinen Dinge, but I just couldn't resist since I had it with me. I'll keep plugging at it since I like it, but I'm also waiting for Der Vorleser to arrive; that one I have read recently in English.

 

Interesting you should mention comic books. My dh, who is Pakistani, says that he read comic books when he was starting to read English.

 

You could try Asterix and Obelix or maybe Tintin in German!

[In The Great White North]

I have Calvin and Hobbes! The dc loved it.

[Sara R]

Our library has the Harry Potter books in German. They are entertaining, I know the plot, and there is still plenty of vocabulary to learn even though I studied a lot of German in high school and college.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Make it easy on yourself and start with one you already know and like (ie have read in English and enjoyed enough to read again), maybe even something you've read recently with the dc. There's time enough for original German college lit after you've resurrected your German vocabulary.

 

Don't discount the value of reading books that were translated INTO German. You should be able to find both Sayers and Christie in good German translation. Are they foundational pieces of German literature. No. But there is a huge value in reading pages and pages of German, just to get the flow of the language and vocabulary into your head.

 

I've read six of the Harry Potter books in German. (And had some teen German guests eagerly borrowing my copies when they visited us in the US.:lol:) So at one time or another I've consumed several thousand pages in German. If I were to go back and read the classic German works that I struggled with in College, I think I'd find them far easier.

[Amy in TX]

Don't discount the value of reading books that were translated INTO German. You should be able to find both Sayers and Christie in good German translation. Are they foundational pieces of German literature. No. But there is a huge value in reading pages and pages of German, just to get the flow of the language and vocabulary into your head.

 

I've read six of the Harry Potter books in German. (And had some teen German guests eagerly borrowing my copies when they visited us in the US.:lol:) So at one time or another I've consumed several thousand pages in German. If I were to go back and read the classic German works that I struggled with in College, I think I'd find them far easier.

 

Good advice! My Pakistani SIL is working on reading the HP books in English, with the help of her daughter and a dictionary. :)