How about widening the circle and also including Swiss German writers, such as Duerrenmatt?

Who wrote Antigone and the Garden Gnomes ? Loved that story. I'm wondering, as well, if there isn't somewhere a song book of all the old sentimental favorites that still get sung at Oktoberfest here in Cincinnati: Du, Du liegst mir im herzen; Du kannst mich liebe fur drei tolle Tagen; Die Lorelei; etc.

And where, may I ask, is Heinz G. Konsalik? ;D

GOOD question -- where is he indeed? ;) (And Johannes Mario Simmel, come to think of it!)

is The Lorelei here? I would like to vote for it.

Arthur Schnitzler? Kein Arthur Schnitzler?

Kakanier: There are several collections of works by Arthur Schnitzler on the list (currently nos. 66, 70 and 155).

Canary: Heine's "Buch der Lieder" and "Collected Poems" -- in English translation -- are on p. 2 of this list. You could vote for them ... or add a book with the ISBN no. 3446123024, which is a short book on the "Loreley" poem specifically. (I'd do it myself, but I've already exhausted my 100 permitted entries! :) )

Themis-Athena wrote: "Kakanier: There are several collections of works by Arthur Schnitzler on the list (currently nos. 66, 70 and 155).

Canary: Heine's "Buch der Lieder" and "Collected Poems" -- in English translation..."

Thanks! I voted for it here and may try to add it by ISBN number later but not up to it tonight.
Canary Alice

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (currently no. 202) is not German but Dutch and should not be on this list. Apart from him being Dutch, his Praise of folly was written in Latin, as far as I know, and not in German.

Removed Praise of Folly (again). Not written in German, nor was Erasmus German. See above message.

I've added Hans Henny Jahnn's Night of Lead . He should definitely be on this list with at least one book.

Leseratte wrote: "I deleted some books, wich were not written in german."

Please, next time do mention which books you've deleted (see for intance message 10). Thanks!

@Leseratte
Gordon by Edith Templeton is one of the books I added. It was not writtten in German, I agree, but my reason for adding it is that the description of the Listopia says "... or by those born in Germany, Austria and Switzerland"

Edith Templeton was born in Prague, but as it was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, personally I'd say she belongs on this list (falls in the category of writers born in Austria, if you like), which is why I added the book (and which is why I took the liberty of adding it again).

Lilly Axster was born in Germany, according to her profile. And Ludwig Wittgenstein was born in Austria...

@Amy
As you are the creator of the list, do books by authors born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire count or not? When their place of birth is not part of present day Germany of Austria, I mean. Borders of countries have changed over the years, and Gordon is not the only title I've added by an author born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire who didn't write in German.

Hanna Arendt's Origins of Totalitarianism was written orignially in English. In few days I will remove it , if there are no opposing votes.

Tomasz wrote: "Hanna Arendt's Origins of Totalitarianism was written orignially in English. In few days I will remove it , if there are no opposing votes."

I haven't read the book, nor do I know the author, but according to GR she was born in Germany, and the description of the Listopia clearly says "Books originally written in German, OR by those born in Germany, Austria and Switzerland".... (which is why I added a French novel written bij a Swiss author, an English novel by an Austrian author; see also my earlier comment)

Booklovinglady wrote: "Tomasz wrote: "Hanna Arendt's Origins of Totalitarianism was written orignially in English. In few days I will remove it , if there are no opposing votes."

I haven't read the book, nor do I know t..."

You are right. Her first books were written in German, but later in her life she started writing in English. OoT was (AFAIK) the first of them.

Tomasz wrote: "You are right. Her first books were written in German, but later in her life she started writing in English. OoT was (AFAIK) the first of them. ..."

Being Jewish, she was forced to leave Germany in 1933, so it's only logical that she started writing in the language she then undoubtedly spoke (as, according to GR, she emigrated to the US in 1941 and the book you mentioned was published in 1951). Vicki Baum, for example, was also Jewish and wrote in English as well later on in her life.

I've only read 7 of the top 100 even though I a have a German family name (my mother's maiden name was German too). I'd better get with it! The Magic Mountain is #17 in my TBR list so I expect to read it by the end of this year.

George wrote: "The Magic Mountain is #17 in my TBR list so I expect to read it by the end of this year...."

Not an easy book to read, but a great one!

I am looking for a list where the German books are in German... So I might skip the translations… Somebody who knows??

Margareta wrote: "I am looking for a list where the German books are in German... So I might skip the translations… Somebody who knows??"

On this list you'll find by far mostly books originally written in German... GR has the nasty habit to change books to the most popular edition, that's why there are translations on this list.

Also, have a look at
German Childrens' Books in German
German Contemporary Thrillers
Thrillers in German (original or translated)

Thanks! So then I will just keep on scrolling, because it is the literature I'm looking for :)

@Margareta

I personally have a shelf with mostly literature originally written in German:
german-austrian (The titles are in Dutch but the books were originally published in German)

Great! Dat klinkt alsof we gewoon Nederlands kunnen schrijven. Now I start to remember all the names of novellists I heard about at school.

Margareta wrote: "Great! Dat klinkt alsof we gewoon Nederlands kunnen schrijven. Now I start to remember all the names of novellists I heard about at school."

We kunnen inderdaad Nederlands schrijven 😃

@Margareta
Heb je er trouwens ooit aan gedacht om lid te worden van de Netherlands & Flanders group?

Wist niet dat die bestond…. Ik begin nu net zo'n beetje wat meer rond te neuzen en 'gericht' te zoeken in GR. Wat behelst die groep?

Margareta wrote: "Wist niet dat die bestond…. Ik begin nu net zo'n beetje wat meer rond te neuzen en 'gericht' te zoeken in GR. Wat behelst die groep?"

Kijk even rond, zou ik zeggen (volgens mij kan dat namelijk ook als je geen lid bent).

I find it astonishing, as well as outrageous to merely see two female names in the first 100 authors. The canon of books worth reading, just like the resulting so-called "best literature" lists, where constructed under patriarchy and mostly by men. However, as should be clear, women writers have made important contributions to the field of literature in German-speaking countries. Let's acknowledge and further spread their work by equally including them here.

Müffelo wrote: "I find it astonishing, as well as outrageous to merely see two female names in the first 100 authors. The canon of books worth reading, just like the resulting so-called "best literature" lists..."

It is remarkably disappointing. Are German-author readers historically more sexist than English- author readers? Germany does have a woman prime minister now.
I will plan on reading Malina by Ingeborg Bachmann, currently at #108. If one or two other readers do also, and vote for it, it can move into the top 100 in this poll.

George P. wrote: "Müffelo wrote: "I find it astonishing, as well as outrageous to merely see two female names in the first 100 authors. The canon of books worth reading, just like the resulting so-called "best liter..."

Well, I believe it has everything to do with the patriarchal system(s) in German literary criticism in the past, as well as in the present. Works by male authors were celebrated as brilliant "classics" of world literature, whereas the (mostly male) critics did not even acknowledge women to have the potential to create literature as monumental as men, since they were assigned different competences. In patriarchy, men value other men, if any.

In the last couple of weeks, a hashtag has been trending on Twitter: #dichterdran (for those of you who understand German). It's all about current day literary criticism and how it treats genders differently. Women write about male authors just how male critics write about female authors. It's really entertaining and revealing, of course.

That sounds great. I would be interested in reading Malina. I'm currently trying to read more female authors published in the GDR, such as Christa Wold, Brigitte Reimann, or Maxie Wander.

I find it interesting that there are several titles by W.G. Sebald, who wrote in English but was German by birth and nationality, as well as several by Kafka, who wrote in German, but was most definitely not German, nor Austrian nor Swiss. What are the criteria for inclusion?

Would Beckett be included among a similar list of French writers?

BookLovingLady wrote: "@Margareta

I personally have a shelf with mostly literature originally written in German:
german-austrian (The titles are in Dutch but the books were originally published in German)"

How about making a list then?

@Book2Dragon
Not interested. Thanks.
(I already made one quite a while ago, see Nederlandse vertalingen van Duitstalige auteurs)

# 678 Heimwee Naar de Jungle was written by Cuban author Alejo Carpentier in Spanish with title Los Pasos Perdidos (titled The Lost Steps in English).

David wrote: "I find it interesting that there are several titles by W.G. Sebald, who wrote in English but was German by birth and nationality, as well as several by Kafka, who wrote in German, but was most defi..."

I think you are misinformed: Sebald wrote in German! Of course, he could also write in English, if he chose to do so, but his famous novels were written in the German language.

George P. wrote: "# 678 Heimwee Naar de Jungle was written by Cuban author Alejo Carpentier in Spanish with title Los Pasos Perdidos (titled The Lost Steps in English)."


Kafka was a Bohemian German speaker and wrote in German. I think it's safe to say, we can include him on this list. The nationality in one's passport is not a criterium for inclusion on this list. And as we all know, the borders of Germany are / were in flux.

"Kafka was a Bohemian Germ..."
Franz Kafka spoke/wrote three languages: Czech, German, Yiddish.