Favorite Literature

[wba]

Gorgias
Platon, Greece ca. 380 BC

Parzival "Percival"
Wolfram von Eschenbach, 'Germany' ca. 1210

A Midsummer Night's Dream
William Shakespeare, England 1590s

El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha "Don Quixote I"
Miguel de Cervantes, Spain 1605

Segunda parte del ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha "Don Quixote II"
Miguel de Cervantes, Spain 1615

Lebens-Ansichten des Katers Murr nebst fragmentarischer Biographie des Kapellmeisters Johannes Kreisler in zufälligen Makulaturblättern. Erster Band
"The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr together with a fragmentary Biography of Kapellmeister Johannes Kreisler on Random Sheets of Waste Paper. First Volume"
Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, Berlin 1819

Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts "Memoirs of a Good-for-Nothing"
Joseph von Eichendorff, Berlin 1826

Geroy nashevo vremeni "A Hero of Our Time"
Mikhail Lermontov, Russia 1840

Der Hochwald
Adalbert Stifter, Austrian Empire 1841/1844

Les Trois Mousquetaires "The Three Musketeers"
Alexandre Dumas, France 1844

Sylvie. Souvenirs du Valois
Gerard de Nerval, France 1853

Mozart auf der Reise nach Prag "Mozart on the way to Prague"
Eduard Mörike, Königreich Württemberg 1855

Tennessee’s Partner
Bret Harte, USA 1869

Röda rummet “The Red Room“
August Strindberg, Sweden 1879

Brat'ya Karamazovy "The Brothers Karamazov"
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russia 1880

Also sprach Zarathustra "Thus Spoke Zarathustra"
Friedrich Nietzsche, Germany 1885

Maihime "The Dancing Girl"
Ogai Mori, Japan 1890

Utakata no ki "Foam on the Waves"
Ogai Mori, Japan 1890

Fumizukai
Ogai Mori, Japan 1891

Pan
Knut Hamsun, Norway 1894

The First Men in the Moon
H. G. Wells, UK 1901

Gradiva. Ein pompejanisches Phantasiestück
Wilhelm Jensen, Austria-Hungary 1902

Na Srebrnym Globie "On the Silver Globe"
Jerzy Zulawski, Poland 1903

On Baile's Strand
William Butler Yeats, Ireland 1903

A Pal utcai fiuk "The Paul Street Boys"
Ferenc Molnar, Hungary 1906

Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke "The Lay of the Love and Death of Christoph Cornet Rilke"
Rainer Maria Rilke, Germany 1906

Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils"
Selma Lagerlof, Sweden 1906

Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige "Further Adventures of Nils"
Selma Lagerlof, Sweden 1907

Rabok “Prisoners“
Ferenc Molnar, Austria-Hungary 1907

The Lady of the Shroud
Bram Stoker, UK 1909

Der Opfergang
Rudolf Georg Binding, Germany 1911

Gan "The Wild Goose"
Ogai Mori, Japan 1911

Le Grand Meaulnes "The Great Meaulnes"
Alain-Fournier, France 1913

Peterburg “Petersburg“
Andrei Bely, Russia 1913

Ameisenberg
Heinrich Wolfgang Seidel, Germany 1914

Himmelsvolk "People of the Sky"
Waldemar Bonsels, Germany 1915

Androcles and the Lion
George Bernard Shaw, UK 1916 [1912]

Die Flucht
Ernst Barany Bjell [Pseudonym of Ernst Wiechert], Germany 1916

Die Schmetterlingspuppe
Wilhelm Lehmann, Germany 1918

My “We“
Yevgeny Zamyatin, Soviet Union 1920

Phantastische Nacht "Fantastic Night"
Stefan Zweig, Germany 1922

Desire Under the Elms
Eugene O'Neill, USA 1924

Die Tigerin. Eine absonderliche Liebesgeschichte
Walter Serner, Germany 1925

Bella
Jean Giraudoux, France 1926

A gőzoszlop "Column of Steam"
Ferenc Molnar, Hungary 1926

Jatek a kastelyban “The Play's the Thing"”
Ferenc Molnar, Hungary 1926

Amerika
Franz Kafka, Germany 1927

Jazz
Hans Janowitz, Germany 1927

Therese Desqueyroux
Francois Mauriac, France 1927

Colline “Hill of Destiny”
Jean Giono, France 1929

Gli indifferenti "Times of Indifference"
Alberto Moravia, Italy 1929

Léviathan “Leviathan“
Julien Green, France 1929

The Apple Cart
George Bernard Shaw, UK 1929

Der Provinzlärm
Wilhelm Lehmann, Germany 1930

Narziß und Goldmund "Narcissus and Goldmund"
Herman Hesse, Germany 1930

Hunger nach Glück
Friedrich Eisenlohr, Germany 1932

Manhattan Love Song
Cornell Woolrich, USA 1932

Moselfahrt aus Liebeskummer
Rudolf Georg Binding, Germany 1932

Some Must Watch
Ethel Lina White, UK 1933

Eine unglückliche Liebe "A Sad Affair"
Wolfgang Koeppen, Germany 1934

Kuro tokage “The Black Lizard“
Edogawa Ranpo, Japan 1934

L'homme de Londres "The Man from London"
Georges Simenon, France 1934

Tropic of Cancer
Henry Miller, France 1934

Rosenemil
Georg Hermann, Netherlands 1935

Gang durch das Ried
Elisabeth Langgässer, Germany 1936

Şarpele "The Serpent"
Mircea Eliade, Romania 1936

Schwarze Weide "Black Willow"
Horst Lange, Germany 1937

Die Legende vom heiligen Trinker "The Legend of the Holy Drinker "
Joseph Roth, Netherlands 1939

Hulanhe zhuan "Tales of Hulan River"
Hong Xiao, Hong Kong 1940

Vendegjatek Bolzanoban “Casanova in Bolzano”
Sandor Marai, Hungary 1940

Le verite sur Bebe Donge “The Truth About Bebe Donge“
Georges Simenon, France 1942

Black Angel
Cornell Woolrich, USA 1943

Pippi Langstrump ”Pippi Longstocking”
Astrid Lindgren, Sweden 1945

Die Gesellschaft vom Dachboden "The Attic Pretenders"
Ernst Kreuder, Germany 1946

Die Tänzerin "The Dancing Girl"
Rudolf TImmermans, Germany 1946

Elisabeth
Gilbert Cordier, France 1946

Enthymesis oder W.I.E.H.
Arno Schmidt, Germany 1946

Chroniques I. Un roi sans divertissement "A King Without Distraction"
Jean Giono, France 1947

Il compagno
Cesare Pavese, Italy 1947

In a Lonely Place
Dorothy B. Hughes, USA 1947

Gadir oder Erkenne dich selbst
Arno Schmidt, Germany 1948

La pelle "The Skin"
Curzio Malaparte, Italy 1949

Nineteen Eighty-Four
George Orwell, UK 1949

Romulus der Große "Romulus the Great"
Friedrich Durrenmatt, Switzerland 1949

Ryoju “The Hunting Gun“
Yasushi Inoue, Japan 1949

Tithidore “When the Time is Right“
Buddhadeva Bose, India 1949

Der Verlorene
Peter Lorre, West Germany 1951

Le Hussard sur le toit "The Horseman on the Roof"
Jean Giono, France 1951

Tauben im Gras "Pigeons in the Grass"
Wolfgang Koeppen, West Germany 1951

Herein ohne anzuklopfen
Ernst Kreuder, West Germany 1954

Ferdydurke [2nd, new version]
Witold Gombrowicz, Poland 1937/1956

Memushiri kouchi "Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids"
Kenzaburo Oe, Japan 1958

Die galanten Abenteuer Münchhausens
Joachim Kupsch, East Germany 1958

Orpheus Descending
Tennessee Williams, USA 1958

The Haunting of Hill House
Shirley Jackson, USA 1959

Franny and Zooey
Jerome David Salinger, USA 1961

Der Überläufer [new, abridged version]
Wilhelm Lehmann, (West) Germany 1927/1962

Die Physiker "The Physicists"
Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Switzerland 1962

Instantanés
Alain Robbe-Grillet, France 1962

Ansichten eines Clowns "The Clown"
Heinrich Boll, West Germany 1963

Aa, kouya "Ah, Wilderness"
Shuji Terayama, Japan 1966

Le déserteur
Jean Giono, France 1966

Freedom from the Known
Mary Lutyens [editor]/Jiddu Krishnamurti, USA 1969

Kagirinaku tōmei ni chikai burū "Almost Transparent Blue"
Ryū Murakami, Japan 1976

Postřižiny “Cutting it Short"
Bohumil Hrabal, Czechoslovakia 1976

Andre Bazin
Dudley Andrew, USA 1978

Die unendliche Geschichte "The Neverending Story"
Michael Ende, West Germany 1979

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams, UK 1979

Honkakubo ibun
Yasushi Inoue, Japan 1981

The Body
Stephen King, USA 1982

The Gunslinger
Stephen King, USA 1982

Die Klavierspielerin "The Piano Teacher"
Elfriede Jelinek, Austria 1983

Die Verwundung und andere frühe Erzählungen
Heinrich Böll, West Germany 1983

The Talisman
Peter Straub/Stephen King, USA 1984

Justiz "The Execution of Justice"
Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Switzerland 1985

La salle de bain "The Bathroom"
Jean-Philippe Toussaint, France 1985

An Autobiography
Peter Cushing, UK 1986

Hardwired
Walter Jon Williams, USA 1986

It
Stephen King, USA 1986

Sandrosen. Orientalische Reportagen
Georg Brunold, West Germany 1987

Felidae
Akif Pirincci, West Germany 1989

Moon Palace
Paul Auster, USA 1989

Tsugumi "Goodbye Tsugumi"
Banana Yoshimoto, Japan 1989

Ling shan
Xingjian Gao, Taiwan 1990

Huozhe “To Live!“
Hua Yu, China 1992

Die 100 Besten Horror-Filme
Hans Schifferle, Germany 1994

L'Instant de ma mort
Maurice Blanchot, France 1994

Kussun daikoku
Ko Machida, Japan 1996

Chemische Reinigung
Silvia Szymanski, Germany 1998

Being Dead
Jim Crace, UK 1999

Die 13½ Leben des Käpt'n Blaubär "The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear"
Walter Moers, Germany 1999

Being John Malkovich
Charlie Kaufman, USA 2000

Ich habe mit Antonin Artaud über Gott gesprochen
Sylvere Lotringer, Germany 2001

La Petite Bijou "Little Jewel"
Patrick Modiano, France 2001

Taiyo machi "Waiting for the Sun"
Hitonari Tsuji, Japan 2001

Kar "Snow"
Orhan Pamuk, Turkey 2002

Fundbüro
Siegfried Lenz, Germany 2003

Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher "The City of Dreaming Books"
Walter Moers, Germany 2004

Lunar Park
Bret Easton Ellis, USA 2005

Geschichten vom Kino
Alexander Kluge, Germany 2007

Schweigeminute
Siegfried Lenz, Germany 2008

The Buried Giant
Kazuo Ishiguro, UK 2015

Serye pčёly “Grey Bees“
Andrej Kurkow, Ukraine 2018

The Second Sleep
Robert Harris, UK 2019

[josiahmorgan11]

This is an admirable list. I've never been a fan of Easton Ellis but yet to check out Lunar Park. Happy to see It find a home here among all the classics. It is true that we must regard pop culture as true, academic cultural artifact. I saw my first ever episode of Law And Order: Special Victims Unit last night and was shocked by how interesting it was on an exploitative level. Had a similar John Waters-esque response to seeing my first episode of RuPaul's Drag Race. Yet I can't handle Criminal Minds or The Bachelor for two parallel texts. There is validity in even the lowest of culture. Though, King, I'd say, is a true modernist. High culture that accidentally broke through or found a home in genre workings.

[wba2]

Hmm, I don't know, I'm not into pop culture, nor am I interested in pop culture.
I also don't know nothing about the cultural stuff Ellis' characters reference or enjoy, etc.
I just go by great writing, that's all. And Lunar Park is amazing writing (especially in the first half of the novel).

I've so far only read 3 books by Ellis, which were all more or less the same stuff, but showed a huge development in his writing skills.

Less Than Zero is a mildly interesting curio, which is in my opinion only remarkable, because it was written by such a young guy.
It showed some talent, but didn't prepare me for American Psycho, which is basically a rehash, but shows a writer in complete control of his skills - which are plenty. A remarkable book for any time and any place, and one which most every writer would be proud of. And I've also read Lunar Park, which is even better, even if it is wildly uneven (the whole Stephen King stuff, and the fact that it does have a plot, doesn't really work) and doesn't have the stylistic coherence and unity of American Psycho. But the writing is even better, when it is rehashing Less Than Zero and American Psycho - which it is doing A LOT. Basically it seems Ellis was/is writing the same novel again and again, but putting something new in it to amuse himself (or challenge himself, or trick himself into thinking he isn't just basically writing the same stuff once more). Anyway, as I don't care for plot, story, coherence, vision, etc. nowhere as much as I care about each word and the usage of language and literature as literature, Ellis could be writing the same book every month as far as I care. In my book he's a great writer, he's great with words and sentences, and such.

I like King, but he seems to have gotten worse with age, - which probably began when he got off the drugs somewhere at the end of the 80s/beginning of the 90s. But some of his stuff is incredible. The Gunslinger is at times so out there, so psychedelic, for example. Wonderful work.

PS: I do enjoy exploitation in art very much, though, in a lot of different forms and on a few different levels. I know exploitation is part of pop culture, so maybe that's a way where popular culture sneaks into my "personal bubble" without me noticing it much. But I love and enjoy exploitation more on a "serious" level, as something that speaks on a more direct, visceral level, which is seemingly also surreal at the same time, cause that is what life is like. But I absolutely take it seriously. I don't like irony in general and I don't enjoy "tongue-in-cheek" stuff and such. I also don't like satire. So basically I shouldn't like a lot of Ellis, it seems. But as I said, I'm not that much into content and more into form.

[josiahmorgan11]

I think I perhaps miscommunicated myself here because I agree with all that you said. I believe exploitation is directly tied to pop culture of course, and pop culture and market oriented culture is directly exploitative for hopefully obvious market based reasons. You sell Lunar Park well. I'm sure you'd love Dennis Cooper's debut novel 'Closer' so I'd check that out when you get the chance. It's something special for sure.

[wba2]

What have you read by Ellis?
Will try to remember Cooper.

[josiahmorgan11]

Read no Ellis at all so entirely unfamiliar. On the King note; I'm a big fan of his 90s era, like pretty much everything he did up to and including Lisey's Story. Not so sure about since then.

Cooper well worth remembering but certainly controversial.

[wba2]

I regard his 90's work as his somewhat "esoteric" era, where he tried some different stuff and new perspectives, with somewhat mixed results. But I think he was generally in decline after It (1986).

[josiahmorgan11]

Will keep you updated next year when I reread the lot.