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The City of Dreaming Books
Group Reads Discussions 2021
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"The City of Dreaming Books" First Impressions *No Spoilers*
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I don't like that list of CWs :S
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It doesn't take itself very seriously so the triggery-ness might be lessened? But you know my feelings on being forewarned.
Yes, I appreciate this one extra much (extra much?!?!) because I wasn't sure if I wanted to read this or not. I have so many other 2021 group books still left unread, I'll prioritize them and get back to this one later.
Am I a horrible person, when I say that the CWs actually swayed me into buying it? ^^' Since it's a German book (and contrary to my first impression not available to me in the cheaper English version) it is rather expensive (for my means) and I wasn't sure if I should spend my money on it.
Gabi wrote: "Am I a horrible person, when I say that the CWs actually swayed me into buying it?"No, we just have different tastes! :D
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Allison wrote: "I'm super curious about the original text, so I'm glad you're picking it up even if Im now inclined to avoid being alone in secluded places with you ^^"XD! ^^' (as predictable it was the first CW in the list that got me ...)
I was going to say that Gabi lists [redacted] as something she loves more than her family, so it was never safe to be in the same book club with her! XDAnd thanks AMG, it's good to know it isn't as grim as it sounds!
Anna wrote: "I was going to say that Gabi lists [redacted] as something she loves more than her family, so it was never safe to be in the same book club with her! XD ..."LOL! You know how it is with listings - the best for last. (sorry ... OT)
I seem to have left that sentence (about Gabi's list) unfinished, but I don't remember where I was going with it :S I'm operating heavy book club machinery on very little sleep, I'll go rectify that right now. (This is clearly ON topic because I'm in a city and I'll be dreaming of books!)
My first impression (reading the German version) is that it's probably funnier in German - lots of awesome, eccentric words that sound just right. I've heard the translation is great, but e.g. just that this lindwyrm scholar 
is called Hildegunst von Mythenmetz is just so *chef's kiss*. Or that he spends the first page calling people who aren't willing to risk their lives and sanity reading his tale "Kamillenteetrinker" (chamomile tea drinkers) - loving it so far.
That said, we need to keep in mind that even Germans cannot actually read the original since Mr. Moers is merely translating it from Hildegunst's original Zamonian memoir.
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Michelle wrote: "I'm ignorant... what are CWs?"Content Warnings.
I normally avoid even the non-spoiler threads until I finish a group read, but my first impression is that this has a lot of humor that I will not properly appreciate.I’m listening to the audiobook and the narrator is very well-suited for it I think, but all the rambling… I’m cringing every time a new noun is mentioned when describing the setting, because it’s likely to be followed by an imaginative but tedious list of examples of that noun. In my most recent listening session, I realized at one point that I had completely tuned out the audiobook and missed several minutes, just like I tend to tune people out in real life if they insist on rambling at me. :)
I’ve only listed to about 10%, so maybe it will grow on me.
I'm several chapters in and enjoying it. I'm reading the English translation (of the German of the original Zamonian). I'm enjoying the MC's personality, the world and the wordplay.@Eva, I wonder how many fewer words the German version has when they use a single word and English has 2 or more (as in "chamomile tea drinkers").
By the way, I've found a nice little reference guide on wikipedia (which I'm shamelessly copying here to avoid linking to plot spoilers):Wordplay
The names of many of the authors listed in The City of Dreaming Books are anagrams of famous authors. Below are a few listed in alphabetical order by the last name of the real-world author:
Ojahnn Golgo van Fontheweg = Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Ergor Banco = Roger Bacon
Lugo Blah (a Zamonian Gagaist) = Hugo Ball (a German Dadaist)
Hornac de Bloaze = Honoré de Balzac
Rashid el Clarebeau = Charles Baudelaire
Bethelzia B. Binngrow = Elizabeth B. Browning
Trebor Snurb = Robert Burns
Selwi Rollcar = Lewis Carroll
Auselm T. Edgecroil = Samuel T. Coleridge
Asdrel Chickens = Charles Dickens
Evsko Dosti = (Fyodor) Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Doylan Cone (Author of Sir Ginel) = Conan Doyle (author, among other works, of Sir Nigel)
Samoth Yarg = Thomas Gray
Dolreich Hirnfiedler = Friedrich Hölderlin
Ugor Vochti = Victor Hugo
Honj Steak = John Keats
Melvin Hermalle = Herman Melville
Gramerta Climelth (Author of Gone with the Tornado) = Margaret Mitchell
Perla la Gadeon = Edgar Allan Poe
Inka Almira Rierre = Rainer Maria Rilke
T. T. Kreischwurst = Kurt Schwitters
Aliesha Wimperslake = William Shakespeare
Elo Slooty = Leo Tolstoy
Rasco Elwid = Oscar Wilde
Wamilli Swordthrow = William Wordsworth
Rimidalv Vokoban (author of "Love and the Generation Gap") = Vladimir Nabokov (author of Lolita, about the paedophilic passion of a middle-aged European professor for the eponymous heroine)
Gofid Letterkerl = Gottfried Keller
Ertrob Slimu = Robert Musil
The City of Dreaming Books also contains fictional words, found in most of Moers' work. Some are onomatopoeic; others are amalgamations of existing words or Indo-European roots; still others are created by the author. Many such words can be found in Chapter 60. A sample of these are listed below:
"fructodism:" the sensation experienced when squeezing an orange until it becomes soft.
"rumbumblion:" the sound produced by a volcanic eruption.
"indigabluntic:" one of a number of derogatory epithets.
"nasodiscrepant:" a person whose nostrils are notably different in size.
"glunk:" a sound some animals — including lindworms — can make with their teeth, indicating pleasure or satisfaction, particularly with a certain food
I haven't been active here in quite a while but I've been trying to read a bit more, and when I spotted this as the August read I was tempted to give it a go. Saw it was originally German, which is my second language, so I hunted down a preview on a German eBook website and found it pretty approachable.So I've grabbed a copy of the German eBook and I'll be giving it a go. Probably a bit slowly, but its conversational style is reasonably approachable, and it's fun to see the wordplay in another language, and so far the narration is engaging. I'm enjoying seeing the German snark it has lol.
So far I'm about ~5% in and probably will take it in bites. (It's not super slow to read, but I do find reading in a foreign language still a bit mentally tiring after a while.) I'm curious how it'll compare to what folks say about the English translation.
I'm reading it in German as well and I'm not liking the style. It's just... too much. Every noun has an adjective attached. It's so rambly. You know that one friend that's really great and fun but never stops talking? Like they just keep talking and talking and they're really excited about everything and very quirky and bubbly and they never even pause to take a breath and just talk and talk and it's like, girl, I love you but I'm glad we only see each other once a year because spending time with you is f*cking exhausting. That's what this book feels like to me.
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I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who wasn't charmed by this. It's one of those books where I felt like the author had a lot more fun writing it than I did reading it.
The spoiler thread is open for those who have finished and want to talk about impressions that aren't initial :) Link in the first post!
Sebastian wrote: "... You know that one friend that's really great and fun but never stops talking? ..."Yep. That is what this felt like to me when I read it about 4? years ago. I like the drawings. I like the basic idea. But it just goes on and on with one thing after another until I get tired. And it is only 1 book in a series that goes on more and more. Maybe I'd like it better if each book were shorter.
Around that time, on a trip to the library, I saw a kid checking it out. He told his dad it was his favorite book and he was checking it out a 3rd time. So clearly this book works well for some people. I had my copy in my bag. I really should have given it to him to keep, but I was too shy to approach them.
I kind of wonder if that's not why it works for me as a second language book. The admittedly longwinded descriptions mean it's a lot easier to grasp specifics from context, and also ensure I have a solid grasp of what's being discussed, despite not knowing every word.
I started this tonight and so far am finding myself charmed by the narration. I'm not a camomile tea drinker (tastes like it's for horses) so perhaps I'm the target market. This is also the first time I've found myself attracted to a book because of the CW list.
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DNF at 4 hours--my first on Goodreads. 😥
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Allison wrote: "i think there's a lot of wordplay in the book that just isn't as strong translated"I've been finding myself puzzled by some of the word choices in the English version and wondering what I'm missing. That makes a lot of sense as the reason. The only German that I know is some swear words that I picked up in a long ago relationship. I appreciate that this isn't a book that takes itself seriously enough to include any of them.
I'm enjoying the book despite the occasional puzzlement. The whimsical world building is a treat for me. I really wish that I could read some of the books that he's mentioned. I also find myself regularly snickering at his observations on the publishing industry. That part translates.
Eva wrote: "Melvin Hermalle = Herman Melville."Well now I'm sold! Hopefully that library hold doesn't take too long.
I like the illustrations.
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Eva wrote: "My first impression (reading the German version) is that it's probably funnier in German - lots of awesome, eccentric words that sound just right. I've heard the translation is great, but e.g. just..."I started this today (in German audio) and had exactly this thought. I have no idea how one would translate all the awesome germanic words that, as you say, couldn't be more fitting. Kamillenteetrinker and Heulsusen (literally "Crying Susies" but actually just "cry babies").
My initial impression of the narrator was that he really grated on me. But I kept listening and then I got used to it, and discovered that while his tone is pretty grating almost all of the time, there is a huge amount of variation as he voices the various characters.
I am enjoying it hugely now. It's very entertaining and I can just let it wash over me and I don't have to worry if I miss a tiny bit.
Meredith wrote: "I wonder how many fewer words the German version has when they use a single word and English has 2 or more (as in "chamomile tea drinkers""Yes, but I guarantee the German version is actually longer!
DivaDiane wrote: "Meredith wrote: "I wonder how many fewer words the German version has when they use a single word and English has 2 or more (as in "chamomile tea drinkers""Yes, but I guarantee the German version..."
Ha!
DivaDiane wrote: "Yes, but I guarantee the German version is actually longer!"Did he put all the verbs at the end of the book? 😜
I finally started it and I love the prose. I'm only putting it aside now because my alarm will go off in 6 hours and I need some sleep. The playing on words is so clever, the rambling immersive and the illustrations are lovely. What a treasure so far. (I'm reading in German)
I am very jealous not to be able to read this (or anything) in German, but especially this because in English it is a slog for me. Could be that I am officially an empty nester as of tonight, having just returned from dropping off the youngest at college. But I keep getting pulled toward anything else (social media?? Why??). May give it another week to settle.
Gabi, I’m listening to it on Audible and they don’t provide the illustrations. Do you know if the illus are available to see on the Internet somewhere? I did a quick Google search and saw some...
Here you can see all the illustrations from the book - not in the right order but at least they're named:https://zamonien.fandom.com/de/wiki/K...
There's also a graphic novel version and you can see several samples here:
http://www.zamonien.de/buch_graphic_n...
Thank you for the links, Eva. The book illustrations are soooooo good. I love seeing them on every other page. The monsters are just so cute.Oh ... a comic <3. That's way too expensive for me, but now I know what I put on my Christmas list.
Thanks so much, Eva! That’s exactly what I was looking for.
Please save all particulars, details and plot questions for the spoiler thread!
Content warnings for those who want them: (view spoiler)[ all sorts of creepy crawlies including spiders and snakes, mind control, medical experimentation, torture, loss of a loved one, genocide, discussion of cannibalism, harm to books (hide spoiler)]