Fremdsprachige Literatur und Heimweh

(Foreign Language Literature and Homesickness)

Yesterday our little village library had a book sale. Yippee!!

Normally, shops aren't open in most of Germany on Sunday, but yesterday was a special day. In our little village it was the Maidult, a mini-fair that saw the square and half of main street covered in booths selling all sorts of junk. Many local businesses also joined in the spirit by opening their doors. The library was one of those places and, much to my delight, was having a book sale.

Since the books were being sold really cheap (20 cents for a paperback!), I had decided that I would try and find some German books to practice my reading skills. I looked really hard too. However, I mostly came across crime and spy novels involving the Soviet Union or American books translated into German.

First of all, I am not a fan of crime or spy novels and ones that are so dated that they include the Soviet Union do not even tempt me.

As for American titles translated into German... well, I'll pass. The idea of reading a translation just seems like too much effort. If I'm that interested in the book, I will find an English copy.

So much for my finding some German books to practice my reading skills...

However, I was rewarded by a little rummaging through the shelves. They had a very small section of "Fremdsprachige Literatur" (Foreign Language titles) which was mostly in English. I managed to pick up four new titles including the gem A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley.

While I was an undergraduate studying literature I was supposed to read this title for my "Literature by Women" class. Loosely based on Shakespeare's King Lear, this Pulitzer Prize winning novel not only takes place in Iowa, but depicts events and characters that are stereotypically "Iowan." It was the therefore a necessity on many of the English professors lists at my small Iowa college. Amazingly it was only assigned to me once, but I still managed to B.S. my way through the paper and discussions on it without actually having read it. It wasn't that I didn't want to read it; I just never got around to it...

I know that I still have my original copy back home, but I decided when I saw it (in English) for 20 cents I should buy it and actually READ it this time. So, I started it today on the train. So far it isn't too bad. Though I'm from southwest Iowa and I'm pretty sure the novel takes place in north central Iowa (from the references I would say Cerro Gordo County), it feels enough like home that I have to admit I was a little homesick today.

(book review to follow...)