Discovering German Literature in Translation
This month , two books from opposite ends of the Deutsche Welle list of “ 100 German Must-Reads ”: Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann ( translated by John E . Woods ) for 1901 ; and The End of Loneliness by Benedict Wells ( translated by Charlotte Collins ), released in 2016 .
Buddenbrooks is a large book , and it sat by my bed for weeks , waiting for summer holidays . When I finally dug into it , I found a fascinating family saga , tracing generations of the fictional Buddenbrooks family and their family grain business . Sharing many elements with Mann ’ s own family story , it ’ s a look into a typical North German upper-class family through the 1800s , and our AWCH Book Club members all found this fascinating and also perhaps reflective of some of the old Hamburg business families .
BY MICHAELA A .
Mann writes with an exceptional sensitivity for his age — just 25 when it was published . I especially found the push and pull of family obligations ( prestige of the family business versus an individual , artistic life ), and how all the characters were affected by this pressure , remarkably well done . It obviously came from Mann ‘ s deep understanding and experience of this struggle in his early life .
The End of Loneliness is also a family drama , though through a much smaller lens and with more of a gentle , emotional weaving of memories and time periods .
It ’ s the story of three children whose lives are shattered by a tragic accident — and how their lives unfold after the one moment that changes everything . Their relationships with each other fluctuate over the years as they embark on very different paths , and their relationships with love , with loving and being loved , and with life and death , are examined by this talented author .
The story is told in first person by the main character , the youngest of the siblings , Jules , and we trace his time at boarding school , his falling in love , his work life , and his attempts to be a writer . The author , Wells , shares some of his personal story with his characters — most notably his many years at boarding school . The End of Loneliness won the European Prize for Literature in 2016 and remained on the German bestseller list for more than 80 weeks . Charlotte Collins has translated it into English beautifully , and I also thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook narration by Luke Thompson .
Reading these two books side by side led me to reflect on the privilege of choice we have as individuals today , not so shackled by the heavy societal and class expectations of earlier times ( though I ’ m sure there is still plenty of it , just in another form ). But also , in the other extreme , how many of us ( especially us expats !) can drift from our families or our “ village ” of support , and how isolation and loneliness can come with its own heaviness , too .
18 The Clubs within Our Club