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Yo! I am very glad you introduced me to this book! I am very surprised it hadn't come up in my life earlier, and it really does deserve more widespread attention. You hit great points. I also loved the language and as someone who can only read in english I really really wished I could read it in the original language, even in translation it was beautiful. You mention how many characters there are and the perspectives of the french, I love the sort of brief intimate looks we get and she does it so well that the narrative can jump around to so many different corners, it can all pull together and stay really impactful and compelling. She communicates so much so well. Great stuff.

I have this on my list and am excited to read it so I can watch the deep dive!

Your microphone is super cool. Great suggestions!

I just finished this book and CANNOT stop thinking about it. Thank you for this video, I really enjoyed it!

Well hoot tangle two, whats the craic witcha who be the name love HOOYAQ 🍀🦍🚪

I'm reading the novel for the second time in the French translation. In the first place, what strikes me most, is that death is omnipresent since the opening of the novel. I don't agree with some of the ideas expressed by Settembrini. I find his views on death and illness quite shocking. The first description, very long, progressive and soaring, of Clawdia, when Hans passes her in the corridor heading to the restaurant is one is one of the most accomplished portrayal of a woman i've read so far. In chapter III, i really like the passage titled ''table talk'' about the conversation between Hans and Miss Engelhart, the school teacher. The reader is allowed to follow the thread of their thoughts and conversation on two levels, and the dynamics making it change.

Hi!

The Lord of the Rings is one novel actually. It was split into three volumes by the publishers due to how expensive it would have been to publish it all in the 50s, but Tolkien has always stated that it isn't a trilogy and is meant to be read as a single novel.

You must read The Door by Magda Szabó as well! Such an amazing work. Journey by moonlight is also such a brilliant piece by Antal Szerb!

I read it (50 years ago). It was great.

Haven’t read it, but it’s been on my TBR. I was curious about the discussion on history that accompanies the narrative and what you shared has convinced me that it would be beneficial to my own work to read WAR & PEACE this year. & thanks for the recommendation of IMAGINED COMMUNITIES.🤙

I listen to it as an audiobook. 61 hours over the course of a few months. It was an amazing story but I think I need to read it physically to really grasp a lot of the concepts. However, the audiobook let me get to the story in a faster Pace than I think I would with reading it.

It was my summer read about 7 years ago (15 pages per day for 90 days). I spent a few days before I started reading it watching summary videos on TH-cam and I even made a copy of the Wikipedia page so I could keep the characters, time frames, names etc. straight when I got lost. I think of things in terms of life before I read “War and Peace” and life after I read “War and Peace.”

By far my favorite book. Worth every second spent in it. Started it 4 or 5 times only getting through the first 50 pages or so each time. Then, when I finally had the time to get through 100, I couldn’t put it down until I was done. Simply the best.

This is beyond impressive, it's amazing! You lay out the case so well.

Thank you. I would love it if you did another video on current German writers. Jenny Erpenbeck is one prominent voice, but no doubt there are many others.

It's not a typical novel so jettison your expectations and go with the flow. You might be surprised at your enjoyment of it. Once, for shits and giggles, I put a paragraph through spell check....now THAT was a trip!

No Thomas Bernhardt? Hope you haven’t accidentally overlooked the greatest writer in German of the latter part of the 20th century!? Or that you’ll be doing a special on him soon?? Love to see someone specializing in German Literature on TH-cam - I’ve read the obvious ones, Buddenbrooks, The Magic Mountain, The Tin Drum (twice), The Castle, The Trial and the first three are among my favorite books. Plan on reading Berlin Alexanderplatz, Cassandra this year plus have my unabridged Uwe Johnson lined up on my kindle. Still can’t understand the omission of Thomas Bernhardt though….

Thanks for the suggestions. I've read the Kafka and Berlin Alexanderplatz, and just finished Die Blechtrommel (same dtv edition that you have). Also lately reading Joseph Roth and Hans Falada. The experimental novels look out of my depth, both financially and linguistically. Maybe I'll look for some Christa Wolf.

Love this deep dive: terrific insight, and plenty of encouragement for the new reader. We are right on the same page!

Great video!! I love German Literature and philosophy, and always love filling in my blindspots, so glad you included some more modern authors!! For those interested: Heinrich Heine was actually born Harry Heine into a Jewish family and struggled to find work due to the virulent antisemetism of the time. He later converted in an attempt to gain better prospects, adopting the name Heinrich, but still struggled. This lead to a lot of the feelings of isolation he held in his life, but it is not surprising that anyone could find a queer lens to view his poetry as he most certainly was queer. Many believe he had an unrequited love for his cousin, Amalie. Only adding to the sadness and isolation he experienced in his life.

You do need some Rilke in there! My collected works that I picked up in Tübingen when I lived there is still one of my most loved, most read books.

Hallo from Brazil!

Oh, nice! I've been into German literature for the last three years. There are a lot of writers here I've never heard of. Thank you.

I read an e-book version in German that ends with the Wirtin talking about her dresses, it ended with a complete sentence. Before reading I had no clue this book is unfinished, so I was very puzzled and thought this has to be some kind of open ending left to be interpreted by the reader. I was glad to at least find out about the ending that Kafka supposedly told Brod but I also agree with you saying that the book being unfinished kind of fits the atmosphere.

I loved this book! I'm reading it at the moment!

Thanks for doing this for the community. I'd love to read this text. This also reminds me of how nice it would be if Richard Farina's Been Down So Long were back in print.

to be honest, I trust your recommendations so I just bought the book on my kindle and I'm keeping this video so I can watch it after I read the book (spoilers?). however, i just let your video play on mute until the end and liked it because i want youtube's shitty algorithm to aknowledge your video. i'm a slow reader so it might take a while, but I plan to follow up this comment after I read the book and listen what you have to say about it. I think I might do the same with all of your reviews... like a one-person Koors book club, haha. Best of luck and thank you for your service.

The American criminologist was the outsider in The Part About The Crimes.

The listing of misogynistic "jokes" made me want to puke. 🤮

The section about the disappearance of the party organizing friend of the Mexican state senator reminded me of Eyes Wide Shut.

The references to David Lynch and Roberto Rodriguez in The Part About Fate were intriguing.

Check out the series entitled The Bridge. It has themes in common with 2666.

Great review!!!

this has been helpful as ive been reading Terra Nostra since the 80s

As a fellow author - I shall look out for your book. It looks interesting.

Finally something new and promising in my TH-cam reccomendations! Subcribed. Best of luck and I'll see you around. I hope you focus on longform content. I'm loving the NYT best books deep dive.

She certainly lived in 'interesting times'!

Ah I started The Castle a while back and it is part of an unfortunate grouping of books that I never finished from that time period. I did read The Trial this year and enjoyed that one. I will definitely keep your longer analysis video handy for when I’m ready to revisit The Castle.

Came by way of Random Reading Pathways. Hello from a fellow book tuber. Subbed for support, and I look forward to seeing your channel grow. Best, Mark.

Just discovered your channel and looking forward to following along! I read Pale Fire this year and I imagine it will be topping my year end favorites list. May I submit there is a third way to read Pale Fire-the way explicitly suggested by the narrator Kinbote in the intro to the book-which is to read the notes first and then the poem after. I did it this way (following Kinbote’s advice) and I plan to reread it using a different approach next time to see how that goes. What’s interesting is Kinbote being the classic unreliable narrator isn’t someone whose advice you should necessarily take, so to do what he says and read the notes first is probably a bit deranged, much like he is! But it was incredible nonetheless.

I don't know if it's available in the U.S., but there should be a 2010 edition of Zettels Traum from Suhrkamp Verlag. It's divided into four books if I remeber correctly. Schmidt is so wild to me ^^. He and Joyce are the two littelary gaints on my tbr which I didn't dare to touch (yet). Since you are into german literature... have you read anything by Bernhard? If not, I would highly recommend it. Should be right up your ally.

I will check out Berlin Alexanderplatz. One of the best authors I’ve discovered lately is W.G. Sebald. I’ve read Austerlitz, The Emigrants, and some other “minor” works by him and everything is great! I don’t read German, but thanks for bringing this list to my attention.

Nice detailed commentary! A rare thing on TH-cam. I enjoyed discovering Bolano and reading 2666 and The Savage Detectives this year.