Kairos, by Jenny Erpenbeck, is a novel of great emotional depth and historical resonance. Set against the backdrop of the collapsing German Democratic Republic (GDR), this intricate love story weaves together the lives of two individuals caught in the midst of transformative times.

Nineteen-year-old Katharina encounters a married writer in his fifties, Hans, by chance in East Berlin at the end of the 1980s. The narrative follows their passionate, yet challenging, long-running affair through the decline and eventual dissolution of the GDR in 1989, and into the era that follows.

With her distinctive style and broad narrative sweep, Erpenbeck charts the journey of these two lovers. Katharina matures and grapples with a romance that is far from ideal, paralleling the disintegration of an entire world along with its ideology.

Erpenbeck is celebrated for her ability to capture the nuances of human relationships amidst the dramatic shifts of history, and Kairos is no exception. It is a powerful exploration of love, identity, and the indelible impact of political change on personal lives.

In this gripping narrative, Ben Macintyre tackles one of the most famous prison stories in history and makes it utterly his own. During World War II, the German army used the towering Colditz Castle to hold the most defiant Allied prisoners. For four years, these prisoners of the castle tested its walls and its guards with ingenious escape attempts that would become legend.

But as Macintyre shows, the story of Colditz was about much more than escape. Its population represented a society in miniature, full of heroes and traitors, class conflicts and secret alliances, and the full range of human joy and despair. In Macintyre’s telling, Colditz’s most famous names—like the indomitable Pat Reid—share glory with lesser known but equally remarkable characters like Indian doctor Birendranath Mazumdar whose ill treatment, hunger strike, and eventual escape read like fiction; Florimond Duke, America’s oldest paratrooper and least successful secret agent; and Christopher Clayton Hutton, the brilliant inventor employed by British intelligence to manufacture covert escape aids for POWs.

Bringing together the wartime intrigue of his acclaimed Operation Mincemeat and keen psychological portraits of his bestselling true-life spy stories, Macintyre has breathed new life into one of the greatest war stories ever told.

In Sledwaya, der Stadt, in der das Gesunde krank und das Kranke gesund ist, spielt der neue Roman des zamonischen Großschriftstellers Hildegunst von Mythenmetz. Er handelt von der Auseinandersetzung zwischen Echo, dem hochbegabten Krätzchen, und Succubius Eißpin, dem furchtbaren Schrecksenmeister Sledwayas, der Faust und Mephisto in einer Person zu verkörpern scheint. Dieser lässt nichts unversucht, um sich mittels der Alchimie zum Herrn über Leben und Tod aufzuschwingen – und dazu braucht er nichts notwendiger als das Fett von Echo, der gezwungen ist, einen teuflischen Vertrag mit Eißpin abzuschließen.

Echo, das hochbegabte Krätzchen, ist nach dem Tod seines Frauchens in allergrößte Schwierigkeiten geraten. Er ist gezwungen, mit dem Schrecksenmeister Succubius Eißpin einen verhängnisvollen Vertrag zu schließen. Dieser gibt Eißpin das Recht, die Kratze beim nächsten Vollmond zu töten und ihr das Fett auszukochen. Als Gegenleistung muss Eißpin Echo bis dahin auf höchstem kulinarischen Niveau durchfüttern.

Doch der Schrecksenmeister Eißpin hat nicht mit dem Überlebenswillen und dem Erfindungsreichtum des Krätzchens gerechnet – vor allem nicht mit dessen neuen Freunden, den Grübelnden Eiern und dem Goldenen Eichhörnchen, Fjodor F. Fjodor, dem Einäugigen Schuhu und dem Gekochten Gespenst und vor allem Inazea Anazazi, der letzten Schreckse von Sledwaya.

The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke offers a breathtaking collection of poems by the renowned German poet, Rainer Maria Rilke. This bilingual edition features the original German text alongside its English translation, allowing readers to immerse themselves in Rilke's lyrical world.

Rilke's poetry is celebrated for its romantic transformation and spiritual quest, capturing the essence of the twentieth century's most compelling poet. His works resonate with an ecstatic identification with the world, offering readers an endless fascination.

Stephen Mitchell's translations are noted for their lyric intensity and fluency, capturing the complexity of Rilke's thoughts with remarkable accuracy and originality. This edition stands as a testament to the delicate balance of fidelity and innovation, making it a must-read for poetry enthusiasts.

Originally published by Random House in 1982, this Vintage edition continues to inspire and captivate readers with its timeless beauty.

Der Sandmann is a gripping tale that delves into the depths of human psychology and the tragic consequences of self-obsession. The protagonist finds himself trapped in the prison of his own identity, unable to escape the confines of his mind. This internal struggle leads to devastating failures in his relationships, particularly in his romantic entanglements, ultimately culminating in his self-destruction.

E.T.A. Hoffmann masterfully explores the theme of identity and the dark recesses of the human psyche, crafting a narrative that is both haunting and thought-provoking. Der Sandmann stands as a quintessential piece of gothic literature, inviting readers to question the very nature of reality and self.

Phil, a seventeen-year-old, is on a journey of self-discovery. His life is as chaotic as the little he knows about his past. His mother, Glass, is known for her ever-changing lovers, while his twin sister, Dianne, is distant and secretive, no longer sharing her secrets with Phil. Among the eccentric characters in his life is Annie, the quirky old lady with red shoes who seems to live on cherry liqueur, and Nicholas, the unattainable boy Phil has fallen hopelessly in love with.

Phil longs for direction and perspective, and most importantly, to learn more about himself...

Phil's home, a dilapidated manor where he lives with his mother and sister, is a subject of scorn and enmity in the small town due to his mother's eccentric lifestyle and their isolated existence.

Dieses Buch ist ein posthumes Werk, geschrieben von Mykhaella Caponi und Lucio Rosenkreutz, das am 14. Juli 2014 in Straßburg, Frankreich, veröffentlicht wurde.

Die Fortsetzungen des Buches: Grauer Angel 2014.

Dies ist ein Buch, das in Texte beider Schriftsteller unterteilt ist.

From the quintessential author of wartime Germany, A Time to Love and a Time to Die echoes the harrowing insights of his masterpiece All Quiet on the Western Front. After two years at the Russian front, Ernst Graeber finally receives three weeks’ leave. But since leaves have been canceled before, he decides not to write his parents, fearing he would just raise their hopes.

Then, when Graeber arrives home, he finds his house bombed to ruin and his parents nowhere in sight. Nobody knows if they are dead or alive. As his leave draws to a close, Graeber reaches out to Elisabeth, a childhood friend. Like him, she is imprisoned in a world she did not create. But in a time of war, love seems a world away. And sometimes, temporary comfort can lead to something unexpected and redeeming.

Jette's life takes a dark turn when her friend Caro is found murdered. Determined to find justice, Jette publicly vows to avenge Caro's death, unknowingly catching the attention of the killer.

The murderer approaches Jette under the guise of friendship, and she finds herself falling in love with him, unaware of his true identity. As the truth unfolds, Jette's world becomes a thrilling dance with danger.

This gripping narrative is the first in the Jette Weingärtner series, a psychologically brilliant and dramatically told thriller that captivates readers with its intense suspense and intricate storyline.

Er spielt das älteste Spiel der Welt: Verstecken.
Er spielt es mit deinen Kindern. Er gibt dir 45 Stunden, sie zu finden. Doch deine Suche wird ewig dauern.
Erst tötet er die Mutter, dann verschleppt er das Kind und gibt dem Vater 45 Stunden Zeit für die Suche. Das ist seine Methode. Nach Ablauf der Frist stirbt das Opfer in seinem Versteck. Doch damit ist das Grauen nicht vorbei: Den aufgefundenen Kinderleichen fehlt jeweils das linke Auge.

Bislang hat der „Augensammler“ keine brauchbare Spur hinterlassen. Da meldet sich eine mysteriöse Zeugin: Alina Gregoriev, eine blinde Physiotherapeutin, die behauptet, durch bloße Körperberührungen in die Vergangenheit ihrer Patienten sehen zu können. Und gestern habe sie womöglich den Augensammler behandelt …

Maik Klingenberg is a fourteen-year-old boy left to spend his summer vacation alone at his family's villa, as his mother is in rehab and his father is away on a business trip with his assistant. Everything changes when Tschick, whose real name is Andrej Tschichatschow, arrives. Tschick, from the high-rise apartments in Hellersdorf, has somehow made it from a special education school to a gymnasium, and brings along a stolen car.

Thus begins an adventurous journey without a map or compass through the sun-drenched German provinces, reminiscent of the river journey of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. They head towards the vast world, with their destination randomly set to Wallachia, where Tschick's uncle supposedly lives.

This is Goethe's first novel, published in 1774. Written in diary form, it tells the tale of an unhappy, passionate young man hopelessly in love with Charlotte, the wife of a friend - a man who he alternately admires and detests. The Sorrows of Young Werther became an important part of the Sturm und Drang movement, and greatly influenced later Romanticism. The work is semi-autobiographical - in 1772, two years before the novel was published, Goethe had passed through a similar tempestuous period, when he lost his heart to Charlotte Buff, who was at that time engaged to his friend Johann Christian Kestner.

Gibt es in einer vom Alltag besetzten Wirklichkeit einen besser geschützten Raum für gelebte Sehnsüchte als den virtuellen? Bei Leo Leike landen irrtümlich E-Mails einer ihm unbekannten Emmi Rothner. Aus Höflichkeit antwortet er ihr. Und weil sich Emmi von ihm angezogen fühlt, schreibt sie zurück.

Bald gibt Leo zu: »Ich interessiere mich wahnsinnig für Sie, liebe Emmi! Ich weiß aber auch, wie absurd dieses Interesse ist.« Und wenig später gesteht Emmi: »Es sind Ihre Zeilen und meine Reime darauf: die ergeben so in etwa einen Mann, wie ich mir plötzlich vorstelle, dass es sein kann, dass es so jemanden wirklich gibt.«

Es scheint nur noch eine Frage der Zeit zu sein, wann es zum ersten persönlichen Treffen kommt, aber diese Frage wühlt beide so sehr auf, dass sie die Antwort lieber noch eine Weile hinauszögern. Außerdem ist Emmi glücklich verheiratet. Und Leo verdaut gerade eine gescheiterte Beziehung.

Und überhaupt: Werden die gesendeten, empfangenen und gespeicherten Liebesgefühle einer Begegnung standhalten? Und was, wenn ja?

Ada ist mit 12 Jahren auf erschreckende Weise erwachsen geworden. Vor zwei Jahren nämlich hat die hochintelligente Schülerin, neu am Bonner Ernst-Bloch-Gymnasium und im Unterricht gern in die Rolle der Lehrerin schlüpfend, beschlossen, alles als „gleich gültig“ anzusehen. Nur der Sport- und Deutschlehrer Smutek und Höfi, der Geschichtslehrer, können ihr Paroli bieten. Aber dann kommt der ebenso attraktive wie kluge Halbägypter Alev ins Spiel, dem alle „Prinzessinnen“ der Schule zu Füßen liegen. Ada und Alev scheinen wie geschaffen für ein Experiment jenseits moralischer Konventionen, bei dem es vor allem um die gleichberechtigten Startanlagen der Teilnehmer geht.

Das intellektuelle Kräftemessen beginnt -- und weitet sich bald zu einer Obsession. Aber wer hält die Fäden in der Hand? Wie kann man Realität und Fiktion auseinanderhalten? Und: Gibt es eine Möglichkeit auszusteigen?

All diese Ebenen hat Zeh auf eine faszinierend konsequente, atmosphärisch überaus dichte Weise zu einer philosophischen Pubertätsgeschichte mit Liebes- und Krimielementen miteinander verwoben. Und sie hat dies so spielerisch leicht getan, das ihr faszinierender Roman auf hohem Niveau bestens, teils sogar vergnüglich lesbar geblieben ist.

After surviving several horrifying years in the inferno of the Western Front, a young German soldier and his cohorts return home at the end of WW1. Their road back to life in the civilian world is made arduous by their bitterness about what they find in post-war society.

A captivating story, one of Remarque's best.

The Dark Room tells the stories of three ordinary Germans, each ensnared by the tumultuous events of history. Helmut, a young photographer in Berlin during the 1930s, channels his patriotic fervour into his craft, yet his keen eye fails to comprehend the true significance behind the images he captures. Lore, a twelve-year-old girl, finds herself leading her younger siblings on a harrowing journey across a ravaged Germany in 1945 after their Nazi parents are taken by the Allies.

Half a century later, Micha, a young teacher, grapples with his family's past and the actions of his grandfather during the war. His quest for the truth is met with silence and resistance, and the only person willing to assist carries a burdened history of their own. The Dark Room delves into these individual experiences with profound emotional depth and psychological authenticity, shedding light on the complex and dark moments of the twentieth century.

Elective Affinities was written when Goethe was sixty and long established as Germany's literary giant. This is a new edition of his penetrating study of marriage and passion, bringing together four people in an inexorable manner.

The novel asks whether we have free will or not and confronts its characters with the monstrous consequences of repressing what little "real life" they have in themselves, a life so far removed from their natural states that it appears to them as something terrible and destructive.

Tonio Kröger is a captivating exploration of the struggles of youth and the complex journey of self-discovery. Written by Nobel Prize-winning author Thomas Mann, this novel occupies a central position in his spiritual and artistic development.

The narrative follows the life of Tonio, the son of a north German merchant and a "Southern" mother with artistic talents. As a child, Tonio experiences conflicting feelings for the bourgeois people around him. He feels both superior in his insights and envious of their innocent vitality. This conflict continues into adulthood, when he becomes a famous writer living in southern Germany.

"To be an artist," Tonio believes, "one has to die to everyday life." These issues are only partially resolved when Tonio travels north to visit his hometown, where he is mistaken for an escaped criminal. This reinforces his belief that the artist must remain an outsider to "respectable" society.

With influences from Schopenhauer and Wagner, this philosophical fiction delves into the duality of Tonio's parentage, his abhorrence of discipline, and the infatuation and entanglements of a passionate heart destined to intellectualize its feelings in artistic terms.

Heinrich Böll's well-known, vehement opposition to fascism and war informs this moving story of Robert Faehmel. After being drawn into the Second World War to command retreating German forces despite his anti-Nazi feelings, Faehmel struggles to re-establish a normal life at the end of the war. He adheres to a rigorous schedule, including a daily game of billiards.

When his routine is breached by an old friend from his past, now a power in German reconstruction, Faehmel is forced to confront both public and private memories. This encounter with a war-time nemesis, who has become influential in post-war Germany, compels Faehmel to face the lingering wounds of Germany's defeat in the two World Wars.

Thomas Mann's last great novel, first published in 1947 and now rendered into English by acclaimed translator John E. Woods, is a modern reworking of the Faust legend, in which Germany sells its soul to the Devil. Mann's protagonist, the composer Adrian Leverkühn, is the flower of German culture, a brilliant, isolated, overreaching figure, his radical new music a breakneck game played by art at the very edge of impossibility. In return for twenty-four years of unparalleled musical accomplishment, he bargains away his soul—and the ability to love his fellow man.

Leverkühn's life story is a brilliant allegory of the rise of the Third Reich, of Germany's renunciation of its own humanity and its embrace of ambition and nihilism. It is also Mann's most profound meditation on the German genius—both national and individual—and the terrible responsibilities of the truly great artist.

In 1914, a room full of German schoolboys, fresh-faced and idealistic, are goaded by their schoolmaster to troop off to the 'glorious war'. With the fire and patriotism of youth, they sign up. What follows is the moving story of a young 'unknown soldier' experiencing the horror and disillusionment of life in the trenches.