Peter Murmann

I am not sure how I became the owner of this book. I found it on my bookshelf this summer. The only thing that was clear is that it was bought in my local bookshop because of its label on the back cover. Did I buy it? I typically do not buy contemporary novels because I want novels [Read More]

I was researching how many copies of the Swiss children’s book Heidi have been sold worldwide, as I once heard it was the most popular German-language book ever. During this process, I came across Cornelia Funke, who is listed as a bestselling children’s book author from Germany. I had never heard of her, and my [Read More]

This Chinese novel is deeply moving. The writing is very simple, but it manages to pierce through one’s heart. Set during the Civil War in China, it tells the story of a farmer who gambled away his father’s land and tries to make a living in an increasingly difficult context. First, he is forcefully inducted [Read More]

I came across the podcast by the Paris Review entitled Making Light. In it is a wonderful short story by Philip Roth. It is one of the best writing ever. Period. I was glued to my chair. The podcast version of the story is superb. The story starts around minute 10 of the podcast. But [Read More]

After many years, I had the chance to reread Kafka’s Metamorphosis. When I first encountered the piece, I was enthralled by the thought experiment Kafka pursued in the story. What if you wake up in the morning and you have turned into a little bug, but you still have your full consciousness? You can [Read More]

When Gabriel Garcia Marquez died last week, I was inspired to get myself a copy of the novel that made him famous. I am now about 20 pages into Love in the Time of Cholera, which is available as an e-book on Google Play. So far the book is fabulous. Stay tuned for a [Read More]

I am still high from reading this fantastic novel. A week ago I started reading this deep story about life and death composed by Gaito Gazdanov in Russian. I could not put it down even though I had plenty of distractions to keep me from it. Gazdanov learned from Marcel Proust, but I personally [Read More]