Sommerhaus, später.

Sommerhaus, später.

3.63 of 5 stars 3.63  ·  rating details  ·  410 ratings  ·  31 reviews
Eine Menge Vorurteile werden mit Judith Hermanns Debütwerk beseitigt: Erstens, es gibt doch gute deutsche Nachwuchsautoren, zweitens, die Gattung der Erzählung ist nicht tot, und drittens, deutsches Schreiben ist per se nicht schwerfällig und grüblerisch, sondern kann, so zeigt Sommerhaus, später, sehr leichtfüßig und virtuos daherkommen.

Die Erzählperson schlüpft in neun

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Taschenbuch, 187 pages
Published October 1st 2000 by Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag (first published September 1st 1998)
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Linda
Summerhouse, Later
By Judith Hermann


These stories inhabit Berlin after the wall, an underworld Berlin of artists and hangers-on, communes and cafes. In this world, feelings exist below the surface, coloring the characters’ lives in ways they don’t understand. A woman tells a romantic story of her grandmother’s early life in Russia, but it is not the story she wants to tell. A young man with a girlfriend who satisfies him becomes obsessed with a young woman he meets on a train, an obsession no les...more
Kris McCracken
a collection of short stories by German literary sensation Judith Herman, The Summer House, Later is subtitled A book about the moment before happiness. This collection of melancholy, quietly-spoken mediations is a varied lot. For the most part, not much happens.

Characters drink (tea, coffee, vodka), smoke (cigarettes, pot, hash), go out, stay in, get together, break up. If there is one discernible thread it is the almost intangible air of discontent.

There is great craft at work here, but I must...more
John Brookes
"Summerhouse, Later" is a collection of short(ish) stories – largely set in modern Berlin – which, despite itself, manages to be quite engaging.

I say despite itself because it seems that the author, Judith Hermann, is consciously trying to evoke a sense of isolation and emotional detachment in these disparate stories… This is reflected in both the language (with its staccato, matter-of-fact delivery) and the narratives themselves, which often end abruptly, with no resolution of sorts.

However, de...more
Jens
Das Buch war eine Empfehlung einer Freundin, und da es nicht mehr als 160 Seiten in einem relativ kleinem Format enthält dachte ich mir, dass es ein kurzweiliges Lesevergnügen sein könnte. Allerdings kam es dann doch etwas anders. Das Buch, welches von Kritikern sehr gelobt wurde, ist eine Sammlung von Kurzgeschichten. Die haben den Vorteil sich schnell lesen zu lasse, aber den Nachteil, dass sie meist dann aufhören wenn es interessant wird. Ich befürchte das ist auch der Grund warum mir das Buc...more
Cindy
This book frustrated me! The stories had neither a solid beginning or ending. The one thing I will say about the author is that she kept me reading even when I was shouting at myself to stop! She was able to pull me into her characters, but at the end of each story I felt cheated! I guess I probably kept reading, because I hoped that one of the stories would finally mean something! I am sad to say that THAT never happened! Also, except for the fact that it is stated on the book cover, I would ha...more
annik
Пасмурно, дождливо, серо, холодно, утром проснешься — и уже вечер. Работоспособность на нуле. Читать радостные сказки не хочется, все насквозь промозгло и уныло. Опостыло все. Мы живем на болоте, у нас всего 2 солнечных месяца, весна наступает в мае, сырость и повышенная влажность. Сейчас десять часов утра, и самое потрясающее, что могло быть 10 часов вечера, я бы и не заметила, настолько тягучи и однообразны августовские дни. Я думаю о туристах, которые приехали посмотреть на наш чудный город,...more
Friederike Knabe
A nameless young woman recalls her great-grandmother in Russia, reminded of her by the treasured possession, an antique red coral bracelet that had triggered an abrupt change in both their lives. A cab driver, called Stein (stone), dreams of an old stone summer house along a lake outside the big city, yet may be in greater need for a friend to realize the dream. These two stories form the bookends of Judith Hermann's debut collection, "Summerhouse, later" (2001, in German 1998). Nine stories dep...more
Saxon
Jul 24, 2007 Saxon rated it 3 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: those in our 20's who want some stories about yourself...
Shelves: newish-books
Suggested to me by my German friend, "Summerhouse, Later" is a collection of short stories by new, up and coming writer, berliner; Judith Hermann.

In my slow, summer exploration into reading new fiction, I picked this up and read it rather quickly. The language is relatively simple and is complementary to the stories which often play out like someone retelling you a memory over a cup of coffee. The characters are often in their mid-20's facing a future that they do not entirely know how to embra...more
Alik
Da dieses Buch eines der ersten von mir auf Dt gelesenen Bücher war, besteht ein grosser Teil meiner Sternchen-Sympathie aus dem Beflügelungsgefühl beim Lesen in einer fremden Sprache. Das später erschienene zweite Buch der Autorin habe ich nicht vor zu lesen, da mir die Texte, die ich in einer Lesung gehört habe, ziemlich wässrig vorkamen.
Säbelzahnfuchs
Desinteressierte, rotweinsaufende, uninspirierte Berlin-Prenzlauer-Berg-Bewohner, die völlig passiv im Teich der (selbstverschuldeten) Bedeutungslosigkeit dümpeln und sich selbst auf den Keks gehen - ihnen wird in der Gegenwartsliteratur definitiv zu viel Platz eingeräumt.


Ritja
Mehrere Kurzgeschichten in einem Band, die nicht immer gut waren. Ein paar Geschichten bestachen durch ihre Klarheit und machten Spaß zu Lesen, andere wiederum waren einfach nur langatmig (selbst für eine Kurzgeschichte).
René Remington
Nine short stories by the Berlin author Judith Hermann. They all share some sort of eventless but beautiful atmosphere although the quality fo the short stories vary in my opinion. I would say "Sonja" is the best one.
John Hatley
A very beautiful, moody book of short stories. It is the artist's style of writing that creates those moods. It's hard to believe this is her first book!
Uklatsch De la Mancha
Contemporary german writing has been highly influenced by this book. A collection of short stories, located in and around Berlin.
Kendra
My first book of 2010. Very creative stories that were very descriptive in style.
Neva
One star for "The end of something" and "Sonja", the only two short stories here that aren't just a kitschy excuse for making some futile characters lose their time while being depressed over losing their time (or is it over being futile?). I wish I'd learned something, I wish I felt for this book some emotion apart from irritation, I wish there was a touch of humour, I wish I could see something to admire for a moment or something relevant, meaningful, gripping, memorably happy or unhappy that...more
Doris
Apr 12, 2008 Doris rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of intense moments
Recommended to Doris by: a former flat mate
Hermann's collection of short stories is paradoxical in a way: It is timeless and universal while depicting a certain moment in history and a certain place (Berlin in the late 1990s). It is about people living for the moment, looking for a truth, for life itself, postponing the right moment which never comes. The prose and the perspective is plain, almost distanced, but there is something lying underneath which is enormously touching. One of the best German books I have read in a long time.
Ēna
In this book there are very interesting, but uncompleted short stories. I felt like something was missing, but that feeling wasn't bad.
Barbarajean
I read this book in German and English only to find the German esoteric language value lost when I read the English version. Perhaps intention and meaning suffered in translation but it's probably more along the lines of losing the need to understand every word when everything was simply written in English. Nevertheless, the English version is quite good. I think the art and literature coming out of Berlin at the moment is notable.
Vivian
I tried, I really tried. But at the halfway point, I gave up. What a piece of meaningless babble. Could not see a plot or a reason for any of the four short stories that I managed to struggle through.
Andy
I lent this book to a friend of mine called Laura. There were feelings there and I guess I wanted to see if she could pick out the same feelings I had picked out after reading this strange and tender collection of short stories. We drifted apart (as you do) and I never got it back. I don't even know if she ever read it.
Colie!
Jul 04, 2007 Colie! rated it 5 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: German-reading Chekhov fans.
Shelves: jurmen
This is a totally rad collection of short stories that I supremely loved. She's got this incredible style of storytelling, this weird stagnation of time that dominates across the tales, even though they're all very different. It's super Three Sisters. I'm sure it's in English somewhere, and I highly recommend it.
Mia
a tease. short allegories of reunification. told through the fractured and ambiguously unconsummated yet undeniably post-coital relations of people. west germany asks east germany, was it as good for you as it was for me?

germans get this shit right.
Andi
I liked a few, but I'm not sure that I am a short story person. I read the English translation as well. It may have been better in the original German.
Whitney
This was one of my suggestions for my German book club. I didn't read all the stories but the ones I did were pretty good.
Sophie
Feb 06, 2008 Sophie rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommended to Sophie by: Sascha
Strongly atmospheric short stories underlined with modern social and historical German themes.
Dragana
German Gen. Y artsies. Blasé, but good base for sophomore work (see "Ghosts" below)
Nikel27
Jul 19, 2009 Nikel27 marked it as wishlist-bo-birthdayxchange  ·  review of another edition
AngelMooch for Jadedjade)
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Summerhouse, Later: Stories (Paperback)
Sommerhaus, Spater: Erzahlungen (Hardcover)
Sommerhaus, Später. Erzählungen
Summerhouse, Later: Stories (Hardcover)
Summerhouse, Later

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Judith Hermann is a German author.

She holds a Masters degree in German and Philosophy and attended the Berliner Journalistenschule, a highly selective professional academy for journalists. During this training she did an internship with the German language newspaper Aufbau in New York.

More about Judith Hermann...
Nichts als Gespenster: Erzählungen Alice Kaltblau Nient'altro che fantasmi Naar de stad

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