30 July 2010

Book reviews by country: Germany

For my series this summer, I am providing selections of book reviews by country. Either the author is from the country named in the post, or the book is set there.

Christkindl_Market_Nuremberg_Bavaria_Germany
I've reviewed seven books from Germany, and of them all my favourite by far is The Sinner by Petra Hammesfahr (translator John Brownjohn), which I called "a brilliant portrait of the dark places of one woman's memory". I've reviewed another book by the same author, which I didn't like much, two by Andrea-Maria Schenkel (The Murder Farm and Ice Cold) and one by Julie Zeh (Dark Matter). The other two books I've reviewed aren't really "German", one is partly set there - Peter Temple's John Le Carre-style novel In the Evil Day, and the other is the older novel Thumbprint by Friedrich Glausner, an Austria-Germany-Switzerland mix. I really like Thumbprint, and shall be reading the other novels by this rather tragic author.

I've read other books by German authors of course, including many non-crime-fiction ones, some I haven't liked enough to review, and others I read before I started writing reviews - for example the very good novels by Ingrid Noll, with their black humour. I feel I haven't really cracked German crime fiction - I need to discover some more authors from the region.

My Germany reviews.

30 Jul 2010 15:49:00 | Country book reviews

The comments to this entry are closed.

NEXT POST
Book reviews by country: France For my series this summer, I am providing selections of book reviews by country. Either the author is from the country named in the post, or the book is set there. For today's country, France, I have seven reviews, among them assessments of two books by Dominique Manotti and three by Fred Vargas, so I haven't been very adventurous in this part of the world and must rectify that. One novel that isn't by either of these authors is Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker, who is not French but has lived there part-time for many years. From my review: "Although in many respects this is a "feel-good" book, providing an idyllic and partisan depiction of the French country way of life which exists still despite the efforts of the relentless modern world to homogenize it, the author is not afraid to address difficult issues head-on, personal and political. The stories of the French resistance in the Nazi regime and the fate of the French North Africans during the DeGaulle years are sombre, told with authority and style, as one might expect from an author who has written distinguished histories (as well as a previous novel about the famous...
PREVIOUS POST
Book reviews by country: Iceland For my series this summer, I am providing selections of book reviews by country. Either the author is from the country named in the post, or the book is set there. Iceland is bound to feature quite a few reviews, given my interest in crime fiction. Of the seven books I've reviewed from that country, four are by Arnandur Indridason (Voices, The Draining Lake, Arctic Chill and Hypothermia). I read Jar City very early on in my blogging days, but though I noted it I did not review it as at that time I was not very confident at the prospect of reviewing books. I've also read, but did not review, the second novel in the series (going by translated - there are two before Jar City not yet translated), Silence of the Grave. All are brilliant: this is a great series to recommend to anyone thinking of trying crime fiction. The first several are translated by the late Bernard Scudder, and the recent ones by Victoria Cribb. Arnaldur Indridason wins many awards for his writing, and deservedly so. Of the remaining books, two are by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, another Icelandic author I highly recommend for her highly acute observational talents,...

Maxine

Science editor who likes reading crime fiction

Search

Become a Fan

My Other Accounts

Recent Comments