Five Great German Short Stories: A Dual-Language Book (Dover Dual Language German)

This book of five short stories is fabulous. I bought this book to continue studying German after two years of high school study. The reading was difficult to begin with, but the accompanying literally-translated English text made it understandable and enjoyable. I'm now in graduate study in Germanistik studying these authors in more depth, often referencing these very stories as part of an author's oeuvre. I still find myself using this book even though the English translation has since become superfluous. The reviewer who previously described them as "grotesque" should stick to Disney tales. German literature is not known for fluff. So although these short stories are certainly not light material, if you continue with Germanistik you'll certainly read these authors again, although already with a basis to understand their style.

Each of these stories is a gem. This is some great story-telling, and it's worth the price of the book just to read these masterpieces in English. As literature, this would probably warrant five stars. If your are truly proficient in your German, by all means buy this book. BUT... if you are at more intermediate level you will find this book well beyond your abilities. In my case I know a few thousands words, can hold simple conversations, managed just fine ordering dinner in my last trip to Germany, and do okay with a German comic book. The complex vocabulary and intricate sentance structures were well beyond my grasp. The shortcoming in this case is the reader. If you have been studying German for many years and wish to hone your skills, this book could be for you. If you have been at this for just a couple years, you will only find it frustrating.

I am a retired Internist. In college, I was privileged to Major in both Chemistry and German Literature. Now, after so many years, I find myself again reading familiar stories in the original German, without the need of a large and clumsy German-English Dictionary to spoil the flow of the prose. The works in this slim volume are all masterpieces, and, for me, old and much beloved friends. I am grateful for the dual-language series which brings me such tremendous pleasure.

For the avid self-teacher, this book will be very useful. Textbooks give you sentences here and there that are translated, and that's very useful. However, having entire stories translated for you is an even better way to learn a language. You have sentence after sentence of correct grammar and vocabulary. You can see how a proper sentence is constructed time and time again.The translation looks like this: German on the left page, English on the right page. The five stories are by some of German's most famous writers...Hoffmann, Kafka, Kleist, Mann, and Schnitzler.