Multicultural Germany Class: Multiple Tongues
This post is part of a series in which students reflect on their discussions in the UC Berkeley undergraduate seminar “Multicultural Germany.” This week’s summary is by Jenelle Mathews: This week in class was a continuation of last week’s topic, Multiple Tongues – Multilingualism, Literature and Translation. As with previous weeks, our readings included articles from […]
Book Review: “The Passport”
UC Berkeley undergraduate Preethi Kandhalu reviewed Herta Müller’s 1986 novel “Der Mensch ist ein grosser Fasan auf der Welt” (The Passport): The Passport presents the story of Windisch, a miller who lives in the Socialist Republic of Romania with his wife and daughter, Amalie, who is in a desperate quest to acquire a passport to emigrate to […]
Der Mensch ist ein grosser Fasan auf der Welt (The Passport)
English translation: The Passport, translated by Martin Chalmers, London: Serpent’s Tail, 1989 Book review by UC Berkeley undergraduate Preethi Kandhalu: The Passport is a novel by Herta Müller that was published in 1986; Müller was the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2009. The novel was later translated into English by Serpent’s Tail – a […]
Book Review: “Septembertee”
As part of their work for the Multicultural Germany undergraduate seminar at UC Berkeley, students in the course have reviewed recent German books relating in various ways to topics of migration, multiculturalism, and contemporary German identity. Julia Schroeder reviewed Renan Demirkan’s memoir Septembertee oder Das geliehene Leben: In der 2008 erschienenen Autobiographie Septembertee: oder das […]
Book Review: “Transit”
UC Berkeley undergraduate Victoria Brinkerhoff reviewed Anna Seghers’ novel Transit: Transit describes the encounters and emotional turmoil of an anonymous twenty-seven-year-old German refugee in the early 1940s. The novel is written from the refugee’s perspective; in his narration, he documents his new experiences in the unoccupied city of Marseille, France after he flees from Paris in search […]
Transit
Written between 1941-42 while in Exile. First published in English, Spanish, and French in 1944; German original first published in the Berliner Zeitung in 1947. Newest English translation: Transit, translated by Margo Bettauer Dembo, New York: New York Review of Books, 2013. (Introduction by Peter Conrad, Afterword by Heinrich Böll) Book review by UC undergraduate Victoria Brinkerhoff: […]
Book Review: “Scherbenpark” (Broken Glass Park)
UC Berkeley undergraduate Brittany Scott reviewed Alina Bronsky’s 2008 novel Broken Glass Park: Broken Glass Park is a young adult novel that brilliantly emphasizes how differences in nationality can impact one individual’s life in a multiplicity of ways. The main protagonist Sascha fights against the stereotypes the bloody murder of her mother perpetuates as well as cultural stereotypes, […]
Scherbenpark (Broken Glass Park)
English translation: Broken Glass Park, translated by Tim Mohr, Europa Editions, 2010. Book Review by UC Berkeley undergraduate student Brittany Scott: Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky was published in 2010 and is a young adult novel that brilliantly emphasizes how differences in nationality can impact one individual’s life in a multiplicity of ways. The main protagonist […]
Book Review: The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine
UC Berkeley undergraduate Melissa Carlson reviewed Alina Bronsky’s 2010 novel: Die schärfsten Gerichte der tartarischen Küche (The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine) examines identity and culture in a Tartar family living in Russia and the events that surround their eventual migration to Germany. The story of the Kalganova family is narrated by Rosalinda, the matriarch of the family. […]
Die schärfsten Gerichte der tatarischen Küche (The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine)
English translation: The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine, translated by Tim Mohr, New York: Europa Editions, 2011. Book review by UC Berkeley undergraduate student Melissa Carlson: Alina Bronsky’s novel, The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine, which was written in 2010, examines identity and culture in a Tartar family living in Russia and the events […]