[Sammie]

This is probably one for someone of one of the above nationalities!

Can anyone recommend a fantasy title in either of these languages that i could read to help improve my linguistic skills?! My german especially is v. shaky at the mo, due to long neglect! so it needs to be fairly simplistic, but still hold my attention. Maybe a good childrens novel? It doesn't matter if it is a translation of an english novel or by a genuine bona fide french/german author, but i know some english bks change a lot in the translation so i don't want to just grab a foreign copy of a book i'v enjoyed in english. If i'v read it already it should be easier to understand, but not as interesting, so s'thing new would be v cool!

Thanx!

Btw, I know there're german people using this board, but ARE any of you actually french??

Sammie.

[Barbarossa]

There are very few fantasy books in German that are worth reading in my opinion. Personally I can reccomend only 2 authors:

Your better bet is propably Micheal Ende,
he wrote both books for children and adults.

His most famous book is "Die unendliche Geschichte" (Neverending story)

At least as good is "Momo"

Pure children books by his are "Jim Knopf und Lucas der Lokomotivführer" and it's sequel.


The other author I would reccomend is Carl Amery, he is heavier stuff, among other things because he uses dialect in his dialogues. He's still worth the effort, though. His books mostly fall in the alternate history subgenre:

"An den Feuern der Leyermark" is a story of a very different Austro- Prussian war of 1866, one in which some American mercinaries feature heavily.

"Das Königsprojekt" is the story of the secret time machine Leonardo da'Vinci built for the pope, who sends his secret agents of the Swiss guard through history...

[Ntschotschi]

There 's one other very recommendable book besides the ones Barbarossa already mentioned: "Krabat" by Otfried Preußler.
Like "Momo" or "Unendliche Geschichte" it's a book for young adults or teenagers. I remember that I was very impressed by its dark athmosphere when I first read it. I don't know the English title but I think it was mentioned somewhere on the board already.

[Sammie]

Danke schön guys! I'll check those out.

Anyone got any simplar recommendations for french stuff?????

Sammie.

[Barbarossa]

How could i forget Krabat, I grew up with Otfried Preussler *hist himself on the head with a heavy book*

[Duarh]

Krabat is definitely a recommendation.

On the other hand, I like Hohlbein quite a bit. 'Marchenmond' (written by brothers Hohlbein), though meant for kids, more or less, was still fun, and Wolfgang H. has a lot of other books too. I have 2 unread ones in my bookshelf right now, 'cuz I can't force myself to start something in German http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

Duarh

[Neri]

This is my very first post, so hi to all at first!

I definately second the choices of German works so far, especially "Momo", which I loved passionately as a child. Also, Hohlbein´s "Maerchenmond" is a good tip, although I do not know whether an English translation of it exists, for possible comparisions while reading.

Sam, have you thought of (don´t hit me!) reading the Harry Potter books in both German and French? Cause as far as I can judge the German translation doesn´t differ much from the original and is more or less easy to read and as far as I know, same goes for the French one. Oh, and remembering my French lessons back in the Old Days, "The Petit Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery is good stuff. Not *exactly* Fantasy, though...

[Sammie]

Hi Neri!

Actually, Le Petit Prince is one of the few french bks we have at home, but i couldn't get into it-too much like school work! I also tried 'Charlie et la choclaterie'! but i know the english version too well, if ye know what i mean. Harry Potter, on the other hand, is a brilliant idea (why didn't I think of that?). I have read bks 2, 3 and 4 in Engliish, and enjoyed them, so maybe i'll get the 1st in french (as my little brother has lost his english version of that one anyway!)

I have ordered Krabat and Unendlich Geschicte already, so those are winging their way to me as we speak.

By the way, does anyone know of anywhere better to order french/german novels (in/to deliver to UK) than www.amazon.de (http://www.amazon.de) and www.amazon.fr (http://www.amazon.fr) ?
High St bkstores have a v poor selection of foreign bks round here, but if anyone knows anywhere else online or in London (where i return in just one wk!!Ahhhh. back to work!) let me know!

Wow. What long sentences. Sammie.

[Shehzad]

Actually I LOVED Le Petit Prince. I've read it in both French and English, and its one of the most touching books ever written.

If you're into fantastic horror a la Poe, try Guy de Maupassant.

[James Barclay]

Try out www.bragelonne.fr (http://www.bragelonne.fr)

They are a French publisher of exclusively fantasy works in trade paperback format (that's the large style paperback to you and me). They're relatively new and run by people who love the genre and want to expand the market in France. To do this, they're publishing some well-known names from the UK and US and publishing French fantasy novelists too.

Definitely worth a look. And if you're lookng for favourite authors' work in French to give you a frame of reference, then Gemmell's Drenai series is coming out at the moment and Chronicles of The Raven start publishing in French next year.

I had a very interesting talk with a French translator of English language novels and boy did it open my eyes. Anyone who thinks it's as simple as getting hold of a dictionary is way, way, way off the mark...

More on this subject another time, I think.