International Online Book Club – Meet the Author
Digi_Book Club #1: Yoko Tawada – "Memoirs of a Polar Bear"
What could be nicer than reading a good book? How about reading a good book together!
At the Goethe-Institut's new digital book club, like-minded people from all over Northern Europe can read German-language literature together and share their reading experience. What's really special is that the authors will join us live, read from their books and take part in our discussion.
For our first meeting on June 2, we've invited German-Japanese writer Yoko Tawada to discuss her novel Etüden im Schnee (Memoirs of a Polar Bear) with us.
Memoirs of a Polar Bear
From the perspective of three polar bears - grandmother, mother and son - an exciting portrait of the times and a migration story spanning three generations is created. The story is set in Moscow, on various journeys, in the GDR and finally in Berlin. The youngest polar bear gains worldwide fame and is asked to write the history of the North Pole. But, like many immigrants, he never lived in the region where he originated from and neither did his mother or grandmother. The three generations were all born in Europe.
The novel can be read historically, politically and philosophically from an animal's perspective. Or simply as a wonderful, enjoyable pastiche of migrant literature. It has been translated into many languages. (Text: konkursbuch publishers)
Yoko Tawada
Born in Tokyo in 1960, Yoko Tawada moved to Germany in 1982. She studied Literature in Tokyo and Hamburg and published her first book - Nur da wo du bist da ist nichts – in Germany, 1987. Numerous publications in German and Japanese followed, including prose, poetry, novels, essays and plays. Her most recent novel, The Last Children of Tokyo (Sendbo-o-te), was published in 2018. Yoko Tawada has received many awards for her work, including the most prestigious Japanese literary award Akutagawa-Sho, the Chamisso Prize and the Goethe Medal.
Who can take part?
Anyone who wants to read, discover, meet German-language authors and share their reading experience with others. The book club discussion will be in German. All participants should have sufficient language skills to read, listen and discuss in German. You can register at the link below:
Registration
You will then receive a link to the online live meeting.
Technical requirements
We will use 'Adobe Connect' for our meeting. You can use a PC or Mac without needing to download any software or app. To participate, simply click on the link and register with your name in the room.
If you want to participate in the session from a mobile device such as an iPad or iPhone, you must install the free Adobe Connect app. We recommend using a headset, as speakers can produce disturbing echo effects.