“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” Chapter 1: The Early Years The novel opens with the protagonist, Franz Ferdinand Trotta, reflecting on his […]
German literature
Radetzky March
“The world was still in order.” — Joseph Roth, Radetzky March Part One: The Rise of the Trotta Family The novel opens with the Battle of Solferino in […]
German literature
The Sleepwalkers
“The disintegration of values is the characteristic of our time.” Part One: 1888 – Pasenow or the Romantic The first part introduces Joachim von Pasenow, a young Prussian […]
German literature
The Death of Virgil
“For the poet, death is the final metamorphosis, the last transformation into the eternal.” Part One: Water – The Arrival The novel opens with the dying Roman poet […]
German literature
Sonnets to Orpheus
“A tree ascended there. Oh pure transcendence! Oh Orpheus sings! Oh tall tree in the ear!” — Rainer Maria Rilke, Sonnets to Orpheus Sonnets to Orpheus is a […]
German literature
Letters to a Young Poet
“Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to […]
German literature
The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge
“For the sake of a single verse, one must see many cities, people, and things… One must be able to think back to roads in unknown regions… to […]
German literature
Young Törless
“For the sake of completeness, one must also mention the torment of the soul.” Chapter 1: Arrival at the Boarding School The novel opens with Törless, a sensitive […]
German literature
The Man Without Qualities
“The man without qualities is not a man who lacks qualities, but one for whom the qualities he has do not matter.” Part 1: A Sort of Introduction […]
German literature
The Broken Jug
“The court is now in session!” — Judge Adam The Broken Jug is a comedic play by Heinrich von Kleist, set in a small Dutch village. The story […]