Continuing our series of translators’ recommendations from 2023 is Ruth Martin with two top reads. Drifter by Ulrike Sterblich, Rowohlt 2023 Drifter was a surprise inclusion on the shortlist for this year’s Deutscher Buchpreis. It’s a joyous, genre-defying novel in which two ordinary friends have their lives turned upside down by the mysterious and possibly …
Moving on with our translators’ books of the year featurette, here comes Tess Lewis. 2023 was an especially strong year for women writing in German, so narrowing down my favorites to a few titles was an almost impossible task (and an unfair ask—Katy!). I’ve neglected many of my darlings and chosen one book from each …
…and a couple to look out for in 2024 By Jamie Bulloch We’re rounding out the year with a few different translators’ recommendations. Here comes the first, by the historian and translator Jamie Bulloch – enjoy! Those who know my tepid enthusiasm for autofiction might raise an eyebrow at my choice of German books for …
The best ways to order books online with a clear conscience Do you like buying books – but don’t always have time for a leisurely stroll around your local independent bookshop? Do you need to send book gifts around the country? Do you sometimes need a specific book really, really urgently? You might think your …
Two sisters, a dysfunctional family, and a bit of romance. Helen MacCormac on Caroline Wahl and her debut novel, 22 Bahnen I work for Literaturhaus Kassel and get to invite amazing writers to talk about their books and the ideas that inspire them. If you have never heard about “Literaturhäuser” before, you can read Susan …
By Sophie Lau Julia Engelmann is an incredible actor, poet, and singer. Her work delves into a lot of the preoccupations of living in the modern world and uses accessible vocabulary that can be understood by German learners of all levels. This is one of the reasons I’m so drawn to her poetry when developing …
A round-up by Katy Derbyshire In the German-speaking world it’s not just autumn leaves that rain down as the days get shorter – literary awards come thick and fast as well. They tend to be national or regional and a lot of them are named after dead white men. Here’s a little run-down of 2023’s …
By Katy Derbyshire This is a beautiful book combining a short satire by everyone’s favourite German 20th-century writer, reflections by one of my favourite 21st-century German writers, and lashings of typographical ginger beer. Like me, Sharon Dodua Otoo read a bit of Böll for her German A-Level. In her case, it was his short story …
By Annie Rutherford This piece was originally commissioned (in German) for the exciting Trans|Droste project, where you can find English, Arabic, French, Farsi, Kurmancî and Turkish translations of the work of the 19th-century poet Annette von Droste Hülshoff, including by Annie Rutherford. I am writing this wrapped in a blanket on a day I have …
Teresa Präauer: Kochen im falschen Jahrhundert A review by Katy Derbyshire Seeing as this is an old-school blog, I must start with a full disclosure: ten years ago I went Dutch with Teresa Präauer, drinking beer, Fernet Branca and pastis. It was a delightful evening, cementing my view of the Austrian author as a very …