“The law is the law, but the law is also an ass.” Chapter 1: The Professor’s Isolation Richard, a recently retired classics professor in Berlin, finds himself adrift […]
German literature
Visitation
“The gardener knows that nothing lasts. The gardener knows better than anyone that everything passes.” Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck is a haunting, fragmented novel that traces the lives […]
German literature
What’s to Become of the Boy?
“What was to become of the boy? What was to become of me?” — Heinrich Böll What’s to Become of the Boy? is a semi-autobiographical novel by Heinrich […]
German literature
Billiards at Half-Past Nine
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” Chapter 1: The Faehmel Family Reunion The novel opens on September 6, 1958, as Robert Faehmel, a reserved architect, […]
German literature
Group Portrait with Lady
“People are always saying that life isn’t a novel—but then, what is it?” Chapter 1: Introduction to the Protagonist The novel begins with an unnamed narrator researching the […]
German literature
The Clown
“I am a clown, and I collect moments.” Chapter 1: The Fall Hans Schnier, a disillusioned clown, lies injured in his Bonn apartment after a drunken fall. As […]
German literature
The Safety Net
“Everything was so fragile, so easily shattered—like the safety net they thought they had built.” Chapter 1: The Setting The novel opens in a small West German town […]
German literature
The Wall Jumper
“The wall was a mirror in which the two Germanys could see themselves.” Chapter 1: The Divided City The novel opens with an exploration of life in Berlin […]
German literature
The Legend of the Holy Drinker
“May God grant us all, all of us drinkers, such a good and easy death.” Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter Andreas Kartak, a homeless alcoholic, sleeps under the […]
German literature
Job
“And God took Job’s children, his cattle, his house, his health—but not his faith.” Chapter 1: Mendel Singer’s Life in Zuchnow The novel opens in the small Jewish […]