Marlen Haushofer’s The Wall is one of my favourite novels of all time; if you haven’t read it yet, it is certainly a worthy choice for the currently ongoing WIT Month. However, the novel that introduced me to her writing and which I also liked very much was The Loft, translated by Amanda Prantera –…| Radhika's Reading Retreat
In Vicki Baum’s novel, we see post-WWI Germany facing economic decline. The upper class is slowly coming down, the working class is almost out on the streets. The novel opens in a house shared by two such families: the Burthes and the Schliepkes. Geheimart Burthe lives with his wife, his daughter Charlotte, and his son, … Continue reading #WIT #Classics Club: Feme/ Secret Sentence by Vicki Baum (1926)→| a hot cup of pleasure
Translated from German by Shaun Whiteside I’ve been reluctant to engage with Marlen Haushofer’s work, having abandoned The Wall some years ago, even though I enjoyed the film. But Marina Sofi…| Lizzy’s Literary Life (Volume 2)
Translated from German by Ross Benjamin And so to my most anticipated read of 2025 … a bit nervous coming into it. What if it is a dud? Actually there was no need to worry on that score, beca…| Lizzy’s Literary Life (Volume 2)
Translated from German by Imogen Taylor The title of this novel is a reference to Chekhov’s play, Uncle Vanya, the theme of which is dashed hopes and unfulfilled expectations. Thus there is something satirical about the title of Salzmann’s novel for there is nothing glorious about her protagonists, unless you count their resilience in the […]| Lizzy’s Literary Life (Volume 2)
Translated from German by Jo Heinrich Following Wednesday’s visit to a C19th mansion on the Landwehr Canal, we are now travelling eastwards, 14 stops on the M6 tram, to the district of Marzahn, one of the GDR’s massive Plattenbau estates, built in 1977. An area with an infamous reputation: after the fall of the Wall […]| Lizzy's Literary Life (Volume One)
Translated from German by Katy Derbyshire A new Robert Seethaler novel is always a cause for excitement. That he’s got a new Scottish indie publisher (Canongate) doubles the excitement, becau…| Lizzy’s Literary Life (Volume 2)
Peter Stamm is Switzerland’s most famous and probably greatest author today. He writes in German. His works have been widely translated and when a new Peter Stamm book comes out, it is typica…| Vishy's Blog
I’m not quite feeling my current format of titling these grouped review posts. The previous one is “Short Reviews of a Kang, a Clemmons and a Manyika“. On one hand, a generic “Review of Three Books” is not helpful – I generally like to indicate the writer and title of the book under review. On […]| Kinna Reads