Hello
Gentle Reader
In
the midst of a heated Nobel Speculation for this year, I had almost forgotten
about the German Book Prize, and its six shortlisted books and authors. This year’s
shortlist is noted for its diversity; from violent hooligans, lonely families, oppressive
realities, lost youth and depressed urbanities. It’s a dour but literary
shortlist, which explores the difficulties of today’s continually changing
world, and its complicated and complex challenges in which the individual is
forced to face.
This
year’s shortlisted titles and authors are as follows:
Reinhard
Kaiser-Mühlecker – “Fremde Seele, dunkler Wald,” || English || “Dark Forest,
Foreign Soul,”
Bodo
Kirchhoff – “Widerfahrnis,” || English || “Encounter,”
André
Kubiczek – “Skizze eines Sommers,” || English || “A Sketch of Summer,”
Thomas
Melle – “Die Welt im Rücken,” || English || “The World at Your Back,”
Eva
Schmidt – “Ein langes Jahr,” || English || “A Long Year,”
Philipp
Winkler – “Hool,” || English || “Hool,” (as in Hooligan)
Of
all the listed novels and writers on this year’s shortlisted, a few books stand
out. The first is Eva Schmidt with her novel ““Ein langes Jahr,” || English ||
“A Long Year,” her first in nineteen years. It’s a short novel, told in
thirty-eight episodes, in which she discusses the depressing urban landscape of
the modern world.
The
second is the highly personal novel by Thomas Melle; “Die Welt im Rücken,” ||
English || “The World at Your Back,” in which he details his struggles with his
bipolar disorder.
Last
and least, a personal favourite is Reinhard Kaiser-Mühlecker with his novel: ““Fremde
Seele, dunkler Wald,” || English || “Dark Forest, Foreign Soul.” The novel
strikes me as interesting in its depiction of a family run farm slowly going to
ruin, and a family slowly disintegrating or being sold off with it; it’s a harrowing
account of the loss of traditional values and customs, and livelihoods in the
names of great progress, and it’s almost machine like way of sawing up pieces
of the past or personal in favour of a collective future.
To
see the shortlist please see the following German Book Prize website:
As
well, one of the greatest high lights of the German Book Prize is its video portion,
in which the shortlisted books are discussed, authors interviewed, and extracts
read. To see this year’s video please follow the link provided below:
Thank-you
for reading Gentle Reader, I look forward to seeing you here this Thursday, for
the announcement of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Take
Care
And
As Always
Stay
Well Read
M.
Mary
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