"Alle Toten fliegen hoch - Amerika" by Joachim Meyerhoff was a recommendation from my sister. She lent me her copy, and I am glad she did: It is a book I enjoyed very much.
The author was born the same year as my sister (1967), just one year
before me. In this autobiographic novel, he focuses on his year as
an exchange student in the US when he was 17 years old. But
he also refers to things that happened in his childhood, and we learn about his life in a small town in northern Germany in the months
before and after the exchange year. As he is the same age as my sister
and I, a lot of what he describes is familiar;
we were children and teenagers at the same time in the same country.
His year in the US brings him
into contact with people so different from anyone he ever knew back
home; their ways of life are unlike everything he took for granted.
His host family live on the
outskirts of a small settlement in Wyoming. The landscape in all its
immensity, the climate, the house and garden, the food, the clothes; all
different.
School is nothing like school
at home, either; subjects such as History and Sports have a completely different approach to what he is used to.
Joachim soon settles in and
grows to like his host family a lot, with the exception of their
youngest son, who makes it clear from the start that the German guest is
not at all welcome.
The young man's adventures
during that year range from taming a horse to making friends with a
prisoner on Death Row, from visiting the Grand Canyon to having dinner
with a family of bodybuilders.
Three months into his
exchange year, tragedy strikes back home: one of his brothers dies in a car
crash. Joachim travels home to be with his family for the funeral, but
finds coping with their collective grief very hard. He decides
to go back to Wyoming and complete his year there.
When he finally returns to
Germany for good, getting back into his old life is impossible - he has
grown and changed, but the small town has not. His family has seemingly
come to terms with the loss of Joachim's brother,
but the underlying sadness is palpable.
During the year that is the story's focus, the young man learns a lot about life and about himself.
I highly recommend this book, but as far as I know, it has not (yet?) been translated into any other language from German. It is the first in a series of (so far) three, and I am looking forward to reading the next one - it is already on my TBR pile :-)
This sounds great; hopefully they will release an English version soon. The thing about America is that it's so large that Wyoming is almost like a whole different country than, say, South Carolina. There are many different experiences to be had here.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the recommendation!
You are welcome, Jennifer, although I'm afraid my recommendation isn't of much use to you as long as it is only available in German...
DeleteThe "like a different country" even applies to a place as small as Germany: where I live is quite different from the north, or even just a two-hour drive south towards the mountains. And of course life is always different in a city or a village.
I'll probably never read it; but still find it interesting to read your review of a contemporary German book. Even though I can read German, I have to confess I have probably not been keeping up with German literature (neither past nor present) even 1% compared to English!
ReplyDeleteIt is rare for me to read something in German (apart from my weekly paper, of course, and all things work-related), and I don't know all the names of contemporary authors and their works in my country. But I usually (not always) can trust my sister's taste in reading, and she certainly was spot on with this book.
DeleteI doubt my German is good enough to even try to attempt reading this book, but I enjoyed your review and if it is even translated I am sure I would be interested in reading it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kristi. One of my next reads will be the second book by this author, and of course there will be a review on here as well.
DeleteI was happy to read your comment on Weaver's blog. I need help with some good book recommendations. I pick far too many stinkers and they are fairly expensive. Nothing is worse than buying the hardcover and not being able to finish it. I just finished Life After Life yesterday and did enjoy it. It is the second book of the author's I have read. I do find it hard to follow her style sometimes.
ReplyDeleteHello and welcome to my blog, Donna!
DeleteKate Atkinson's style is certainly unique and not everybody likes it. I was fascinated by her writing from the moment I opened the first of her books I read, "Behind the Scenes at the Museum".
Why buy books when you can borrow them at the library? Or is there none near you?
I swear, thus sounds like something I would read! I hope there us an e-reader format!
ReplyDeleteNot sure about that; I borrowed my sister's paperback. Do you read German?
DeleteSounds interesting. I am older, of course, but I still like to know what life in Germany was like after I left. (strange that the country managed to survive without me)
ReplyDelete:-)
DeleteMoost of what the author describes in this book is about the US and not so much about Germany. But the way he experiences his year there would have been different had he not grown up in Germany, I guess. The next book goes further back in his childhood and is set nearly all in Germany.
Good morning - am enjoying reading here - I found you via Weaver!
ReplyDeleteThe book does sound interesting to me as I left England to make a life in America, many, many years ago, and know a bit about the huge differences which can face one no matter in which part of the country. Small English village to Washington, D.C. was certainly an eye opener, and that was way back in the sixties! Hope this novel is translated as I would like to read it. Unfortunately my German is extremely limited sad to say. I traveled through much of Germany last Spring - via riverboat cruise - and have to say I absolutely loved every minute. The countryside was exquisite, the historic towns beautiful. Lots of pix on my blog if you're interested!
Enjoy your day.
Mary - in North Carolina, USA
Hello Mary! Welcome to my blog and thank you for your very kind comment!
DeleteA riverboat cruise sounds lovely, I am sure it was a wonderful experience. I am certainly going to pop over to your blog soon!