A German Christmas Festive Tales From Berlin to Bavaria Book Review

 I love reading festive stories each December to help get me in to the Christmas spirit, and when I was hunting for some new titles to read this year, something new caught my eye.

I'd stumbled upon a beautiful little book filled with German Christmas stories called A German Christmas: Festive Tales from Berlin to Bavaria, and it sounded like the perfect cosy Christmas read, so I had to get myself a copy.

A German Christmas is a lovely little collection of festive stories and carols written by German, Swiss, and Austrian writers, and translated for English readers. Spanning 224 pages, there are twenty works to enjoy as you count down the days to Christmas, from the classic children's story, The Elves and the Shoemaker by The Brothers Grimm (one of my childhood favourites), to the poem, Advent by Rainer Maria Rilke, and the play, Christmas Shopping by Arthur Schnitzler, to the beloved Christmas carol, O Tannenbaum by Ernst Anschutz. 

Here's a complete list of the works included in the book, in the order they're printed:

♥ The Elves and the Shoemaker by The Brothers Grimm.

♥ Berlin at Christmastide by Heinrich Heine.

♥ Nutcracker and the King of Mice by E.T.A. Hoffmann

♥ Advent by Rainer Maria Rilke.

♥ Interview with Santa Claus by Erich Kastner.

♥ The Separation by Ilse Frapan.

♥ The Christmas Box by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

♥ In the Outer Suburbs by Peter Stamm.

♥ Christmas Eve by Peter Rosegger.

♥ The Loan by Wolfdietrich Schnurre.

♥ Christmas by Kurt Tucholsky.

♥ Christmas with the Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann.

♥ Christmas Shopping by Arthur Schnitzler.

♥ Christmas Not Just Once a Year by Heinrich Boll.

♥ On Christmas Eve by Helene Stokl.

♥ Christmas in Cochinchina by Joseph Roth.

♥ Martin's Christmas Wish by Erich Kastner.

♥ Every Year Once Again- the Client Gift by Martin Suter.

♥ After Christmas by Hermann Hesse.

♥ O Tannenbaum by Ernst Anschutz.

It's a beautifully curated collection of classic stories with something for every mood and stage of the Christmas season, and tales suitable for all ages. I haven't read many books by German, Austrian or Swiss authors in my life and knew the work of very few of these authors before reading this book, so I've been enjoying branching out a little, and sampling stories from other parts of the world. I've been reading a story or two a night, and I love how the book is helping to immerse me in the Christmas spirit, and showing me how the holiday has been celebrated in other countries over the years. It's exactly what I hoped to gain from this book.

The book itself is a gorgeous evergreen hardback with festive red end papers, and it's a little smaller than the average paperback in size. The dust-jacket is the same shade of green, and is beautifully designed with Germanic black and white houses along the bottom, and classic Christmas images like Christmas trees, candles, Nutcracker soldiers, Krampus, and German treats decorating the space above it. The fonts used for the title are tasteful, and on the back there's a quote from one of the stories in festive gold foil.

It isn't an illustrated collection, but each piece has a small image from the cover design included beneath its title in black and white, which is a sweet touch. The paper is reasonable quality, and the font used is average-sized, which helps make it easy to read.

Overall, I think A German Christmas: Festive Tales From Berlin to Bavaria is a fantastic book, and I'm glad I gave it a chance. If you enjoy the classics and are looking to read something festive but a little bit different this Christmas, I couldn't recommend it to you more.

I'm now tempted to try a similar collection of festive fables from Scandinavian writers called A Scandinavian Christmas: Festive Tales for a Nordic Noel. I have far too many books on my TBR pile waiting to be read to justify a pre-Christmas purchase, but I may have to pick up a copy for next year.

Have you read A German Christmas? What are your favourite festive books?

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