The Field

Title: The Field Writer: Robert Seethaler (translated by Charlotte Collins) Publishing House: Picador Date of Publication: March 18th 2021 (first published June 4th 2018) Rating: 5 stars ‘’Did I talk about tomorrow? Did I tell you that I love you? Do you remember?’’  In a German town, the dead have indeed their own stories to…

#FaiytaleFriday: Germany

If you follow me for a while, you will have discovered my deep love for fairytales and Folklore from all over the world. I am one of those weird people who support the obligatory teaching of fairytales in schools and their inclusion in the curriculum. The reason is simple and obvious: they are faithful mirrors…

In the Full Light of the Sun

Title: In the Full Light of the Sun Writer: Clare Clark Publishing House: Virago Date of Publication: February 28th 2019 Rating: 1 star ‘’You think knowing you can never change that the rottenness is too deep – rooted in you, that it’s part of who you are, you think that makes anything better, that it stops the guilt, the…

Visitation

Title: Visitation (original title Heimsuchung) Writer: Jenny Erpenbeck (translated by Susan Bernofsky) Publishing House: New Directions Date of Publication: September 30th 2010 (first published February 2nd 2008) Rating: 5 stars ‘’In a household where a death has taken place, the clock must be stopped at once.’’ It is easy to stop the clocks when Death has arrived in a house. The…

Vom Schicksal Das sich Wendet (Märchen von Freiheit und Glück)

Τitle: Vom Schicksal Das sich Wendet (Märchen von Freiheit und Glück) Writer: Otto Betz Publishing House: Kösel Date of Publication: 1987 Rating: 5 stars *All quotes and titles translated by me. Taken from the Greek edition.* ‘’Is the course of our fate irreversibly defined from the very start? Can we do nothing to fight against blind destiny, or are…

Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall

Title: Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall Writer: Anna Funder Publishing House: Granta Books (UK) Date of Publication: June 9th 2003 Rating: 5 stars *Any political comments will receive the axe. Don’t try to provoke me, you’ll fail miserably.* ‘’Peter Fechter, the eighteen-year- old shot trying to escape in 1962 and left to die on the death strip, because…

Aller Tage Abend (The End of Days)

Title: Aller Tage Abend (The End of Days) Writer: Jenny Erpenbeck (translated by Susan Bernofsky) Publishing House: Knaus / New Directions Date of Publication: November 11th 2014 (first published August 20th 2012) Rating: 5 stars ‘’The Lord gave and the Lord took away, her grandmother said to her at the edge of the grave. But that wasn’t right, because the…

Eight Stories: Tales of War and Loss

Title: Eight Stories: Tales of War and Loss Writer: Erich Maria Remarque Publishing House: New York University Press Date of Publication: May 29th 2018 Rating: 5 stars ‘’Only one cemetery for so many. Everywhere, in scores of places, lie the others. The white wooden crosses of the French, the black ones of the Germans.’’ With All Quiet on the Western…

Medea

Title: Medea Writer: Christa Wolf Publishing House: Nan A. Talese Date of Publication:  October 24th 2012 (first published 1996) Rating: 5 stars ‘’I am Medea, the sorceress, if you all will have it so. The wild woman, the foreigner. You shall not belittle me.’’ I’ve always declared-to the dismay of many- that if I ever had a daughter, I would…