German Book Club: 'Das Café ohne Namen'

P icture Source: © claassen / Ullstein Buchverlage

Our monthly book club meets up on a Tuesday evening, approx. ten times a year. In an informal atmosphere we discuss (in German) a contemporary novel, short story or a collection of poems which participants read before we meet up.

Join us for the next session of our book club to discuss (in German) the novel Das Café ohne Namen by Robert Seethaler. New members welcome!

Written in his signature accessible style, with a keen eye for detail, Das Café ohne Namen is the latest work of fiction by Robert Seethaler, whose novel A Whole Life(tr. Charlotte Collins, Picador) was shortlisted for the 2016 International Booker Prize. A vivid depiction of one Viennese district throughout a decade of social and economic change, Das Café ohne Namen is also a portrait of ordinary lives centred on a neighbourhood café.
In 1966, having had enough of hard physical labour at Vienna’s Carmeliter Market, and encouraged by local master butcher Johannes Berg, Robert Simon takes over a neglected café in the Leopoldstadt district. His calm, non-judgemental nature soon attracts a range of customers – market workers and locals as well as visitors. As the novel unfolds over the course of a decade, we come to know the many figures who visit the café – some only on a single occasion, others much more frequently.
Focusing on his characters while rooting their lives in the social and political events that shaped Vienna in real life, Seethaler has delivered another evocative novel that lives from its detail and celebration of the ordinary.

Robert Seethaler, born in Vienna in 1966, is a multi-award-winning author and screenwriter. His novels Der Trafikant (2012), Ein ganzes Leben (2014) and Das Feld (2018) have been huge international successes. His books have been translated into over 40 languages. He was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize with his novel Ein ganzes Leben. He lives in Berlin and Vienna.

Everyone who would like to read and discover German books and share their reading experience with others is welcome. The conversation will be in German. All participants should have sufficient language skills to read and discuss in German.

Participation is free of charge.

If you are not a regular member of the book club please register your interest by sending an email to [email protected]. We will add you to our book club mailing list.

More information: Goethe-Institut Glasgow Book Club Page.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Goethe-Institut Glasgow, 3 Park Circus, Glasgow, United Kingdom