524 books
—
749 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Gut gegen Nordwind (Gut gegen Nordwind, #1)” as Want to Read:
Gut gegen Nordwind
(Gut gegen Nordwind #1)
by
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 w ...more
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 w ...more
Hardcover, First Edition, 223 pages
Published
August 5th 2006
by Deuticke
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Gut gegen Nordwind,
please sign up.
Popular Answered Questions
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of Gut gegen Nordwind (Gut gegen Nordwind, #1)

May 08, 2014
Ⓐlleskelle - That ranting lady ッ
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
EVERYONE.
*****




*****
ONE SITTING READ RIGHT HERE! ALL NIGHTER! MUST READ!
Re-read Oct, 22, 2014. Still ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~
I don't know where to start to explain you the whirlwind of emotions I experienced last night reading Love Virtually.
But let's rectify something right now...
Who decided to just change the original title of this book? It was called in German : "Gut Gegen Nordwind : Good Against North Wind" And this makes so much more sense!

A little ...more






ONE SITTING READ RIGHT HERE! ALL NIGHTER! MUST READ!
Re-read Oct, 22, 2014. Still ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~≈~
I don't know where to start to explain you the whirlwind of emotions I experienced last night reading Love Virtually.
But let's rectify something right now...
Who decided to just change the original title of this book? It was called in German : "Gut Gegen Nordwind : Good Against North Wind" And this makes so much more sense!

A little ...more

HALLELUJAH for this little book!!! *happy wiggle*
I needed something to lift me out of my life, out of my head... Just something to make me forget the world for a while and this little book waved hello at me with its friendly looking cover and IMMEDIATE hook!!!
From the first page I was gripped.
It was snappy.
It felt fresh!
In fact it made me want to keep reading and reading and reading, and turning those pages as quickly as my grubby little fingers could manage!!!
The story is told completely in ...more
I needed something to lift me out of my life, out of my head... Just something to make me forget the world for a while and this little book waved hello at me with its friendly looking cover and IMMEDIATE hook!!!
From the first page I was gripped.
It was snappy.
It felt fresh!
In fact it made me want to keep reading and reading and reading, and turning those pages as quickly as my grubby little fingers could manage!!!
The story is told completely in ...more

Gut gegen Nordwind = Love Virtually, Daniel Glattauer
Love Virtually is a novel by the Austrian writer Daniel Glattauer. It begins by chance: Leo receives emails in error from an unknown woman called Emmi. Being polite he replies, and Emmi writes back. A few brief exchanges are all it takes to spark a mutual interest in each other, and soon Emmi and Leo are sharing their innermost secrets and longings. Will their feelings for each other survive the test of a real-life encounter? And if so, what t ...more
Love Virtually is a novel by the Austrian writer Daniel Glattauer. It begins by chance: Leo receives emails in error from an unknown woman called Emmi. Being polite he replies, and Emmi writes back. A few brief exchanges are all it takes to spark a mutual interest in each other, and soon Emmi and Leo are sharing their innermost secrets and longings. Will their feelings for each other survive the test of a real-life encounter? And if so, what t ...more

I was really intrigued by the idea of this book: a modern epistolary novel written only in e-mails, exchanged between a man recovering from a year-long relationship and a - happily? - married woman who know each other only in the virtual world. A modern topic, with all those internet dating sites and with platforms where people form relationships with others based merely on internet profiles. Besides, Daniel Glattauer has been highly acclaimed by the Spiegel magazine and has written columns for
...more

A modern, witty, comedy-of-errors look at just what happens when two people connect through a series of accidental email exchanges.
Favourite quote from the book: "Write to me Emmi. Writing is like Kissing, but without lips. Writing is kissing with the mind."
It starts in an unexpected, but not completely uncommon manner.
Emmi, a happily married woman, sends a few e-mails to a subscription service with the intent of unsubscribing to a magazine.
By chance, these e-mails inadvertently somehow always m ...more
Favourite quote from the book: "Write to me Emmi. Writing is like Kissing, but without lips. Writing is kissing with the mind."
It starts in an unexpected, but not completely uncommon manner.
Emmi, a happily married woman, sends a few e-mails to a subscription service with the intent of unsubscribing to a magazine.
By chance, these e-mails inadvertently somehow always m ...more

The romance is real and touching, and I liked as the two main characters inspired each other, as they improved as the story progressed.
But I have ambiguous feelings toward the characters.
I didn’t like Emmi. She was self-centered and pushy. She was obviously bored in her marriage, but she didn't do anything about it.
I didn’t like Leo. Sometimes he was kind of rude, sometimes ignorant, other times he was pretentious, meanwhile he tried to remain mysterious.
And I didn’t like Bernhard, but I cou ...more
But I have ambiguous feelings toward the characters.
I didn’t like Emmi. She was self-centered and pushy. She was obviously bored in her marriage, but she didn't do anything about it.
I didn’t like Leo. Sometimes he was kind of rude, sometimes ignorant, other times he was pretentious, meanwhile he tried to remain mysterious.
And I didn’t like Bernhard, but I cou ...more

(Still not published in English, read in Spanish)
After having read the earlier Glattauer's novel I had been anxiously waiting for its sequel.
I got it only yesterday, late in the evening.
I finished it today.
Beware, because once you enter Emmi and Leo's world you'll be completely hooked, you won't be able to put the book down.
This might be seen and even reviewed as a trivial, page-turner, modern epistolary love story. Only another of those fresh-and-easy-reading books to take away with you for a s ...more
After having read the earlier Glattauer's novel I had been anxiously waiting for its sequel.
I got it only yesterday, late in the evening.
I finished it today.
Beware, because once you enter Emmi and Leo's world you'll be completely hooked, you won't be able to put the book down.
This might be seen and even reviewed as a trivial, page-turner, modern epistolary love story. Only another of those fresh-and-easy-reading books to take away with you for a s ...more

It was so long since the last time I read a book just in 24 hours. It was so real to me, so intense, so damn real. It wasn't a story, it was like a memory, awaken after a long time.
Started the seconde book right away. And then I'm gonna re-read them again ...more
Started the seconde book right away. And then I'm gonna re-read them again ...more

This book was frustrating as fuck. I hated Emmi (self centered b****) and Leo was okish.
The end of the book made me really grumpy but at the same time I was very happy for Leo 🤔
Honestly don't understand why this book is praised everywhere... ...more
The end of the book made me really grumpy but at the same time I was very happy for Leo 🤔
Honestly don't understand why this book is praised everywhere... ...more

This felt a bit like watching old people flirt, tbh. Not sure if it was because I read this in German, or the fact that they didn’t switch to a first name basis until the very end but the prose felt quite formal, sometimes stuffy, often very flowery and therefore, old.
Both characters were very eloquent, particularly Emmi. She was quirky and funny, sarcastic, with a very sharp tongue and the story just flew along and was very easy to read, despite what I said earlier about the prose. This, plus ...more
Both characters were very eloquent, particularly Emmi. She was quirky and funny, sarcastic, with a very sharp tongue and the story just flew along and was very easy to read, despite what I said earlier about the prose. This, plus ...more

Aug 06, 2015
Martini
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
female-protagonists,
general-fiction
This one reminded me that books where the focus is on the lovestory - or even worse: the only subject, as in this case - are not for me, even when they are as unsentimental as this book. Two stars, one for the interesting style: an epistolary novel consisting of emails, and one star for being so unkitschig.

So this book is a bit like vox for the net millennium. I have a weird relationship to this book.
basically the guy that I currently have a "relationship" with is a guy I've known for 6 years online. we hung out years ago in the same forum. I know people in real life that have met him in real life. we both know people online that have met the other in real life. he's been to new york, for all we know in the same room as me. basically the internet is a very complicated network of people who intera ...more
basically the guy that I currently have a "relationship" with is a guy I've known for 6 years online. we hung out years ago in the same forum. I know people in real life that have met him in real life. we both know people online that have met the other in real life. he's been to new york, for all we know in the same room as me. basically the internet is a very complicated network of people who intera ...more

Nov 01, 2013
Vonia
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
romance,
foreign-translated
... It was an interesting premise, but extremely predictable... with an open-ended ending that really left me... wanting a lot more. It raises the questions of how love can be formed in this day & age, online dating, e-mail, never meeting face-to-face. Is love more authentic this way? Less based on physical traits? More likely to last a lifetime? The potential for this book was great, but the execution failed to live up to it.

Mar 14, 2012
Bettie
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Bettie by:
Carey Combe
Translated from the German by Katherina Bielenberg and Jamie Bulloch.
Opening:
15 January
SUBJECT. CANCELLING MY SUBSCRIPTION
I would like to cancel my subscription. Can I do so by e-mail?
Best wishes
E. Rother
Original title Gut gegen Nordwind should have been kept even though the body was translated into English.
Unputdownable.
Opening:
15 January
SUBJECT. CANCELLING MY SUBSCRIPTION
I would like to cancel my subscription. Can I do so by e-mail?
Best wishes
E. Rother
Original title Gut gegen Nordwind should have been kept even though the body was translated into English.
Unputdownable.

Sep 02, 2018
Justine
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
romance,
contemporary
I thought I wouldn't really like this book, as it's clearly a romance, and I don't really love this genre. But Love Virtually was in my TBR; it's been a long time and I decided to read some of the oldest books there! So I gave it a chance.
I didn't know it was epistolary. And I love this kind of novel! Moreover, it was well written, even if it was translated!
Then, the characters. Both Leo and Emmi are either super annoying, or super endearing! They can be sarcastic, ironic, mean, vengeful; but a ...more
I didn't know it was epistolary. And I love this kind of novel! Moreover, it was well written, even if it was translated!
Then, the characters. Both Leo and Emmi are either super annoying, or super endearing! They can be sarcastic, ironic, mean, vengeful; but a ...more

The Short of It
Realistic portrayal of an online affair.
The Long of It
Emmi Rothner accidently e-mails Leo Leike. No seriously. She does. She’s trying to cancel a magazine order and accidently hits an extra period or delete a letter, whatever. Haha mistake happened and both parties involved laugh a little (LOL anyone?) and life went on.
Until it happened again. This time Emmi is a wee bit more irate at magazine company and Leo comes back equally as snarky. Hahaha giggles ensue AGAIN. And the next t ...more
Realistic portrayal of an online affair.
The Long of It
Emmi Rothner accidently e-mails Leo Leike. No seriously. She does. She’s trying to cancel a magazine order and accidently hits an extra period or delete a letter, whatever. Haha mistake happened and both parties involved laugh a little (LOL anyone?) and life went on.
Until it happened again. This time Emmi is a wee bit more irate at magazine company and Leo comes back equally as snarky. Hahaha giggles ensue AGAIN. And the next t ...more

This is one of those books where the context of when I read it is probably super important. If I had read it a week ago I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it so much.
Since I read it today, when I was freeeee and not totally stressed out I did enjoy it and finished it in a few hours instead.
The "emails between two characters" narrative device could have been so, so annoying. But it wasn't because they read like actual emails a real person would send (apart from having better spelling), making it f ...more
Since I read it today, when I was freeeee and not totally stressed out I did enjoy it and finished it in a few hours instead.
The "emails between two characters" narrative device could have been so, so annoying. But it wasn't because they read like actual emails a real person would send (apart from having better spelling), making it f ...more

I literally read this book in about 3 consecutive hours today. Couldn't put it down. Very uniquely written and you can truly feel the emotions the two characters feel... but the ending ruined it for me, it was so not expected and I wish it turned out a different way! Solid three star book.
...more

Just finished it!
It was wonderful and amazing as the the first time I've read it
and now i can began the next book that continues the story! ...more
It was wonderful and amazing as the the first time I've read it
and now i can began the next book that continues the story! ...more

Another random pick from the bookstore, just because I felt like I needed some chick-lit in my life.... And I must admit that it's been a very long time that I was not glued to a book and was able to finish it in record time of 2 days. This book was IT! This is the book that you really need to read for a change.
An amazing and beautifully written story of two people who by "accident" started exchanging emails. Emails that have been exchanged in such an addictive way that will NOT let you put down ...more
An amazing and beautifully written story of two people who by "accident" started exchanging emails. Emails that have been exchanged in such an addictive way that will NOT let you put down ...more

Sep 12, 2010
Vered
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Every one I love
4.5 stars. 0.5 star due to sometimes wanting to slap the heroine in a non fun way. Review after the holidays...
Ok, so it's after the holidays ( 7 months but hey...)
Go read this book!! Seriously, go read it! How many times do i have to say it?? This book is all kinds of wonderful, sweet (in a non sickening/need a glass of water/call my dentist kindda way), funny (more witty actually), heartbreaking book. And I couldn't put it down, couldn't stop thinking about it when i had to put it down. I fell ...more
Ok, so it's after the holidays ( 7 months but hey...)
Go read this book!! Seriously, go read it! How many times do i have to say it?? This book is all kinds of wonderful, sweet (in a non sickening/need a glass of water/call my dentist kindda way), funny (more witty actually), heartbreaking book. And I couldn't put it down, couldn't stop thinking about it when i had to put it down. I fell ...more

Told entirely through email, this book reads like a romcom featuring Emmi and Leo, who meet by chance online, when Emmi unintentionally emails Leo instead of the magazine she wanted to unsubscribe from.
Their exchange is playful, witty and creative, and I can definitely see people reading this in one go because it's very dynamic, captivating, and there is a lot of back and forth and flow that stands as evidence to the chemistry between the characters. It truly is a charming book, even if it might ...more
Their exchange is playful, witty and creative, and I can definitely see people reading this in one go because it's very dynamic, captivating, and there is a lot of back and forth and flow that stands as evidence to the chemistry between the characters. It truly is a charming book, even if it might ...more

No spoiler here.
At first the purpose of picking up the book was to be entertained. Two people, opposite sex, start trading e-mails randomly then soon falling for each other? One heck of cliche right there. The weariness of my head had severed after reading philosophical tributes to significant matters of life by famous thinkers. I wanted to a breeze, and the title (Gut Gegen Nordwind : Good Against North Wind - I honestly think it is stupid to call the book ' Love Virtually ' ) fitted what I lo ...more
At first the purpose of picking up the book was to be entertained. Two people, opposite sex, start trading e-mails randomly then soon falling for each other? One heck of cliche right there. The weariness of my head had severed after reading philosophical tributes to significant matters of life by famous thinkers. I wanted to a breeze, and the title (Gut Gegen Nordwind : Good Against North Wind - I honestly think it is stupid to call the book ' Love Virtually ' ) fitted what I lo ...more

I picked up this book as a joke. I found a copy of it lying in a second-hand bookstore. The back cover had a cheesy dialogue that I found funny and so I decided to read it. I had no idea what I was in for. But more surprisingly, I never thought I'd actually like the book.
The premise is a simple one. A woman writes an email to unsubscribe from a magazine. She gets a reply from a man who informs her that she has the wrong e-mail ID, and thus begins their story. The entire novel is epistolary. The ...more
The premise is a simple one. A woman writes an email to unsubscribe from a magazine. She gets a reply from a man who informs her that she has the wrong e-mail ID, and thus begins their story. The entire novel is epistolary. The ...more

I have to admit, the first time I read the book I did NOT like it! I thought that the protagonists never got to the point, I skimmed many parts and didn't read them carefully enough because I just wanted to know how the story will end. Big mistake.
Neither did I like one of the protagonists, Emmi. I thought she was annoying and absolutely impudent (she still is, in some ways). To me she was dislikable in every way. Her attitude was also one of the factors why I didnt enjoy reading it.
But when I r ...more
Neither did I like one of the protagonists, Emmi. I thought she was annoying and absolutely impudent (she still is, in some ways). To me she was dislikable in every way. Her attitude was also one of the factors why I didnt enjoy reading it.
But when I r ...more

From BBC Radio 4 - Afternoon Drama:
Starring David Tennant and Emilia Fox, Love Virtually by Austrian novelist Daniel Glattauer is a thoroughly modern epistolary novel with one difference - its protagonists Emmi Rothner and Leo Leike communicate exclusively by email.
The European answer to You've got Mail.
Two million copies sold in Germany to date. And bought by thirty-five publishers around the world, Love Virtually by Austrian novelist Daniel Glattauer, is well on the way to becoming a global pu ...more
Starring David Tennant and Emilia Fox, Love Virtually by Austrian novelist Daniel Glattauer is a thoroughly modern epistolary novel with one difference - its protagonists Emmi Rothner and Leo Leike communicate exclusively by email.
The European answer to You've got Mail.
Two million copies sold in Germany to date. And bought by thirty-five publishers around the world, Love Virtually by Austrian novelist Daniel Glattauer, is well on the way to becoming a global pu ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Adult Romance. Man and woman start to talk over the Internet. Read around 2017-2019. [s] | 7 | 570 | Mar 06, 2021 02:42PM | |
Readalongs - Germany: Gut gegen Norwind von Daniel Glattauer | 20 | 50 | Aug 04, 2016 01:50AM | |
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Married woman meets a man through email because of some wrong orders /s | 9 | 58 | Aug 13, 2014 01:46PM | |
What's the Name o...: SOLVED - Internet romance written 2010-2012 [s] | 6 | 74 | Mar 02, 2013 01:10PM |
Daniel Glattauer, geboren 1960 in Wien, studierte Pädagogik (Diplomarbeit “Das Böse in der Erziehung”). Zunächst Hobby-Literat, -Liedermacher und Kellner, später Journalist, zuerst Redakteur bei der Presse, dann zwanzig Jahre Autor bei der österreichischen Tageszeitung „Der Standard“. Zwischendurch und jetzt erst recht: Schriftsteller. Verheiratet, ein großes Kind, leider keinen Hund mehr, dafür f
...more
Other books in the series
Gut gegen Nordwind
(2 books)
Related Articles
Mateo Askaripour is a Brooklyn-based writer whose debut novel, Black Buck—which Colson Whitehead calls a “mesmerizing novel, executing a high...
75 likes · 9 comments
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
“Escribir es como besar, pero sin labios. Escribir es besar con la mente.”
—
190 likes
“No hay que pensar nunca en perder. De sólo pensarlo se pierde”
—
66 likes
More quotes…