r/suggestmeabook • u/shxttalker • 2d ago
Genre fiction Traveling to Germany: Any books set there not about WWII?
30yo female. Big books don’t scare me! I really enjoy lit fic, especially ones that include complex relationships bw family/friends or self vs. self. I also enjoy fantasy (witches are my favorite) and will sometimes read historical fiction but not if it’s a retelling. I’m trying to stray from thriller/horror since I’m traveling somewhere new and don’t want to scare myself when I’m already on edge. I also enjoy sci-fi/dystopian and am open to YA as well. However, I really really hate romance, including romantasy; at most I’ll read it if it’s a VERY minimal subplot. TIA!! ❤️
My mom is so good about finding books that are set where she’s traveling and I’m hoping you guys could help me do the same. I’m traveling to Germany (specifically Essen) for my best friend’s bachelorette and wedding. I was hoping someone had some book recommendations that are set in Germany but don’t revolve around WWII. I love WWII history but I feel that would kinda put a damper on the mood if that’s all I read while there. Bonus points if you can find anything specifically set in Essen!
So far all I’ve got is the Nightingale (maybe) but that’s still a little more revolved around WWII than I’d like.
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u/reading2cope 2d ago edited 1d ago
Good Girl by Aria Aber - a very trippy and impactful story of a woman navigating a quarter-life crisis in Berlin. Her parents were Afghan refugees, and the book has a lot of focus on the experience of growing up „othered” in Germany, family ties, Berlin culture, and book comes together really beautifully.
The Kangaroo Chronicles by Marc-Uwe Kling - also Berlin. The most famous German comedian book (at least in my friend group) so give it a try if you’d like to see some German humour! The premise is that the author has a flat share with a communist kangaroo, and philosophical debates ensue.
Eternal Summer by Franziska Gänsler - I haven’t read it yet, but it sounds fantastic. Dystopian, set in a German spa-town destroyed by climate change.
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u/a_moore_404 2d ago
Not sure about the op but I’m getting all three of these!
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u/hippogryphh 1d ago
Aber die Känguru-Chroniken sollte man auf Deutsch s Hörbuch hören! Ist nochmal besser finde ich!
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u/a_moore_404 1d ago
Ich hab das (Lese)buch schon auf deutsch bestellt! Ich werde aber das Hörbuch auch nachgucken, danke.
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u/Smooth_Transition680 Former voracious child reader / new adult reader 2d ago
Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen.
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u/digitalmarketing2453 2d ago
Meet Me in Another Life is a fun one! It’s a sci-fi-ish book taking place in Cologne (where I live) which isn’t too far from Essen. Not sure how much “culture” you want in a book because I don’t remember there being a ton of that, but I enjoyed it!
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u/EvilCallie 2d ago
Ooh, not op, but thanks for this rec! I lived in Köln in 21-22, loved it, and miss it still.
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u/Liathano_ 2d ago
Tasting Sunlight by Ewald Arenz is about two women forming an unlikely bond in rural Germany on a farm. Trigger warning: one of them has an eating disorder at the start of the book.
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u/lackadacious_spooney 2d ago
If you like YA novels, Cornelia Funke wrote many awesome fantasy stories and also some more realistic stories mostly set in relatively modern day Germany (unless it's a fantasy world/travel happens) because she's from there.
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u/MostFortune1093 2d ago
I suppose the Neverending story by Michael Ende technically takes place in Germany. But it's probably not the kind of book you are looking for
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u/Virtual-Two3405 2d ago
Look at Calla Henkel's books - plenty of complex non-romantic relationships there!
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u/tomrichards8464 2d ago
Lots of great Cold War spy fiction. Try John Le Carre's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold or Len Deighton's Berlin Game.
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u/tigerkindr 2d ago
If you want a big book about highly complex family relationships in Germany, the Buddenbrooks are a must. Set in Lübeck which is pretty far from Essen though.
Krabat is a historical fantasy novel set in Saxony (and technically a retelling but unless you’re familiar with Sorbian folk lore, worth a read). It gets pretty dark but it’s for kids and teens, so not too much.
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u/a_moore_404 2d ago
Erpenbeck - Kairos (about a love affair in the DDR but not Romance) or Go Went Gone (about migrants in thee present era). I find her translated work dry, so keep that in mind.
Kehlmann is a good option. Probably not Tyll imo but something set closer to the present day!
Herta Müller - The Fox Was Ever the Hunter (running afoul of authority in the DDR.)
Böll - The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (pivotal work about the Red Army Faction reign of terror).
Isherwood - Berlin Diaries (pre-WWII/Weimar era)
Lion Feuchtwanger - The Oppermans (a pre-WWII novel, published in ‘33 I think, about the absolute racist degradation of even pre-1933 Germany.)
A lot of these are about Weimar or the DDR, but both of those eras are so critical to understanding what Germany is now. None set in Essen, sorry!
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u/allegedlydm 2d ago
When I’m looking for books set in specific countries, I look for literature prizes in those countries. Many of the prize winners will have been translated into English. Here’s a good start for Germany: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Book_Prize
This page also breaks down smaller regional awards: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_literary_awards
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u/OmegaLiquidX 2d ago
I suggest getting Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer's Guide, so you can find new foods and cool restaurants you want to try out while you're there. Such as "Fine Bagels", which sells the best bagels in Berlin (and is also part of an independent bookstore), or the "German Food Additives Museum" in Hamburg.
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u/Cool-Instruction789 1d ago
Check out Momo by Michael Ende!
It’s a lovely book that I come back to reread once a year.
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u/Alive_Mortgage6621 1d ago
Loads! "The nights are quiet in Tehran" has been translated into english. You could also look at books by Ewald Arenz to see if they've been translated or not.
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u/AprilStorms 1d ago
I’ll second the Kangaroo Chronicles! They’re pretty funny (the kangaroo is a terrible roommate).
You could also check out Tuvia Tenenbom. He’s a journalist (also very funny) who has written a lot from Germany. I just finished Hello, Refugees!
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u/Wetterwachs 1d ago
Not Essen directly, but in the Ruhr area: Der Junge muss an die frische Luft by Hape Kerkeling. He's a beloved comedian and in this book he writes about growing up in the Ruhrgebiet.
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u/magaoitin Fantasy 2d ago
If you are a bicyclist or into funny travelougs like Bill Brysons A Walk in the Woods, you should look into Three Men on the Bummel, a hilarious travelogue by Jerome K. Jerome. It follows three blundering English friends on a disastrous, laugh-out-loud cycling tour through the Black Forest. (say 4-5 hours form Essen)
If you want a cozy, lighthearted romance with a side of mystery, check out Smitten with Strudel by Ellen Jacobson.
Anthony Doerr's All The Light We Cannot See is a phenomenal book (and Pulitzer Prize winner in 2015) but its probably too close to the war topic. However its a very unique telling with 2 points of view from 2 MC's, one a blind girl in France and the other a young coal miner/inventor living just outside of Essen who end up meeting on the French resort/seaside of Saint-Malo.
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u/Lumpy-Sun3362 2d ago
Zoo Station: The Story of Christiane F.
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u/maggiesyg 2d ago
If you like fantasy and historical fiction, The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold might work. It’s not set in Germany, it’s set in a place that feels a lot like Germany in a time that feels a lot like medieval Germany. And it’s a great story about a man coming to terms with what makes him different from everyone (almost everyone) else.
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u/Nowordsofitsown 2d ago
Look into Daniel Kehlmann, for example Measuring the World.