What our teachers are reading
One of the most annoying and also most intriguing questions that we might encounter in our everyday lives is probably: „Where are you from?“.
Some of you might remember Vu’s latest book tip by Sasa Stanišić whose first novel Wie der Soldat das Grammophon reparierte is still one of Vu’s favourite books.
In Herkunft, the author tries to approach the delicate question by telling his own family history, using a form of autofiction to describe what birthplaces, language and family mean for life.
It’s all there again: that distinctive Stanišić tone, the fine humor, and the delight in the sound of words.
Stanišić begins with his childhood in Višegrad, the last soccer games in peace, before war and nationalism force the family to leave the county and flee to Germany. With a sharp eye and plenty of humor, he observes his friends from the parking lot of a gas station in Heidelberg when he lived there as a teenager in the 1990s. His writing style is both eloquent and humorous. The power lies in the simplicity of his sentences, which make his stories so tangible, allowing us as readers to identify and sympathise.
Herkunft which was awarded with the German Book Prize 2019 is also suitable for learners of German as a foreign language – not only because the author chooses a language that is easy to grasp, but also because many of you will relate to the subject matter.
Give it a try!
