Next week the 2012 German Book Prize will be bestowed on the best German novel of the year, so it is a good time to put together a list of ten the greatest German novels. Or, more accurately, the ten greatest German-language novels, since three of the novels are by Austrian novelists (for Kafka, "Austrian" in a geopolitical sense).
This list is based entirely on personal preference, rather than consensus by literary critics. Don't agree with my choices? Have at it in the comments, and please add your alternative titles.
I excluded (reluctantly) the novellas from this list, a literary genre where German writers have surpassed their French, American, Russian and English counterparts in producing masterpieces. But the titles chosen here belong in the canon of great world literature and should be read by all.
So here's the list, in chronological order by date of publication (with apologies to Robert Musil, Hermann Hesse, Max Frisch, and Heinrich Böll):
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (1774)
- Theodor Fontane, Frau Jenny Treibel (1892)
- Thomas Mann, Buddenbrooks: Verfall einer Familie (1901)
- Franz Kafka, Der Prozess (1925)
- Alfred Döblin, Berlin Alexanderplatz (1929)
- Joseph Roth, Radetzkymarsch (1932)
- Hermann Broch, Die SchlafwandlerTrilogie (1932)
- Anna Seghers, Transit (1944)
- Wolfgang Koeppen, Tauben im Grass (1951)
- Günter Grass, Die Blechtrommel (1959)
Anyone interested in lists might enjoy my Top Ten German Poets , 50 Near-Perfect Books of German Poetry, and FIve of the Most Precocious German Authors.
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Jenny Treibel over Effi Briest? Buddenbrooks over Zauberberg? Heresy, I say! 🙂
@Harvey, as mentioned, strictly personal preference.
Actually, with Fontane I was sorely tempted to list “Der Stechlin.”
I would probably have gone for the ones you did as well, if only because I was forced to read Effi and Der Zauberberg school and read your choices for pleasure. I also prefer Kafka’s Amerika for the same reason. I’d switch out Hesse’s Der Steppenwolf for your Koeppen.
For me, the best Kafka novel is Das Schloss (the castle). It has no real ending, and meanders to nowhere. That is the first Kafka book I read. Also, the Austrian TV version by Michael Haneke is true to the book.
Frankly, I read all his books, and lived in Europe, and got bored with Europeans. Strangely, after traveling around Europe and talking to Europeans, I became so disillusioned, that I don’t care for their art at all anymore. I now read only Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian writers and watch mostly Asian films like from Iran or Korea. The West is really limited and provincial in scope.
One woman!
An interesting list, and thanks for publishing it. I think Goethe came to regret and dislike ‘Werther’, as I did. Why did you include it?
The mail from Michijo is so muddled, ignorant and rude that it is surely taking the mickey, don’t you think?