Memories of Books.
May. 7th, 2010 06:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sister_luckThis post has inspired me to write about the children's novels that mean(t) much to me. I might open this to Young Adult Fiction - as I'm not entirely sure with some books where they would go.
As author Astrid Lindgren is set on my list, but which book to choose? The earliest I remember being read and later reading myself is Madita und Pims though Michel (called Emil elsewhere, but it will become clear later on why this change was made) featured early on, too, as well as the Bullerbü children and then there's the famous Pippi Langstrumpf. I've got fond memories of laughing and crying with all these characters, but the book dearest to my heart has got to be Ronja Räubertochter, a wonderful coming-of-age fantasy tale with a survival story and romance to boot.
My love of mysteries and crime fiction was started when I read a book that is called in German Die drei ??? und das Gespensterschloß - the first in a series that became more popular in Germany than in the United States where - you may have guessed it - The Three Investigators originated. It was one of the first books that I read entirely on my own without it first being read to me at bedtime by my Dad and I followed the series religiously until I became too old and/or the quality of the books deteriorated.
Again, Erich Kästner must feature, and there are several classics to choose from. I'm not going with Berlin kids helping small-town boy recover the money that was stolen from him on the train journey in Emil und die Detektive. Emil, of course is responsible for a certain Swedish boy having to change his name in the German translation. I much prefer Das fliegende Klassenzimmer, set in a boarding school for boys, for its quiet and tragic moments and love for the underdogs and outsiders - though it also features a mass brawl and several laugh-out funny moments.
Historical fiction - especially about German history - made up a huge part of my reading list and several of the books have stayed with me. One is Klaus Kordons Die roten Matrosen about the events in 1918/19 Berlin told from the point of view of a 13-year-old working class boy. I devoured tons of books about the Nazi era and World War II, which led to me being scared by the sounds of aeroplanes flying over our house. I guess these books deserve their own post and because this has already become quite long, I shall continue on another day.
As author Astrid Lindgren is set on my list, but which book to choose? The earliest I remember being read and later reading myself is Madita und Pims though Michel (called Emil elsewhere, but it will become clear later on why this change was made) featured early on, too, as well as the Bullerbü children and then there's the famous Pippi Langstrumpf. I've got fond memories of laughing and crying with all these characters, but the book dearest to my heart has got to be Ronja Räubertochter, a wonderful coming-of-age fantasy tale with a survival story and romance to boot.
My love of mysteries and crime fiction was started when I read a book that is called in German Die drei ??? und das Gespensterschloß - the first in a series that became more popular in Germany than in the United States where - you may have guessed it - The Three Investigators originated. It was one of the first books that I read entirely on my own without it first being read to me at bedtime by my Dad and I followed the series religiously until I became too old and/or the quality of the books deteriorated.
Again, Erich Kästner must feature, and there are several classics to choose from. I'm not going with Berlin kids helping small-town boy recover the money that was stolen from him on the train journey in Emil und die Detektive. Emil, of course is responsible for a certain Swedish boy having to change his name in the German translation. I much prefer Das fliegende Klassenzimmer, set in a boarding school for boys, for its quiet and tragic moments and love for the underdogs and outsiders - though it also features a mass brawl and several laugh-out funny moments.
Historical fiction - especially about German history - made up a huge part of my reading list and several of the books have stayed with me. One is Klaus Kordons Die roten Matrosen about the events in 1918/19 Berlin told from the point of view of a 13-year-old working class boy. I devoured tons of books about the Nazi era and World War II, which led to me being scared by the sounds of aeroplanes flying over our house. I guess these books deserve their own post and because this has already become quite long, I shall continue on another day.
