F.B.F: Max und Moritz

Flashback Friday:  Max und Moritz

Flashback Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies and it's a way to show a little love to those books that hold a special place in our hearts. There are no set rules aside from the fact that the book must be at least five years old.
For today's flashback, I'm taking you back to high school (again) and talking about the very first book I ever really read in German.  When I started high school, I simultaneously enrolled in both Spanish and German because I wasn't sure which language I would like more; these were the only two offered at my high school unless you wanted to go to the other high school in town for one period to take French or Japanese.  After a year in both classes, I discovered that I really enjoyed learning German.  The language sounds angry and awesome and the culture is fascinating.  As a junior, after three years learning the language, we were assigned H.C. Wilhelm Busch's Max und Moritz:  Eine Bubehngeschichte in sieben Streichen (in English...Max and Moritz:  A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks). 

Though technically a book for children, the black humor and moral lessons were not lost on us third year German high school students.  It is an illustrated story told entirely in verse (rhymed couplets to be exact) and was published in 1865.  The story follows Max and Moritz, two friends who continually commit horrible pranks on various members of their community that escalate in severity until the very end.  I won't give away what happens at the end, because it would ruin it.  Suffice it to say that the two boys get their comeuppance. 

Culturally relevant in today's German-speaking nations, Max und Moritz are continually referenced in pop culture and the media.  It is a story read to children even today.  I loved this book because it was dark, funny, and horrific all at the same time.  If you want to read the story, you can find it in translation through Amazon in various version.

What moral books/stories are important to you?

Happy reading!

Comments

Post a Comment

Get Wordy!

Popular posts from this blog

L is for...Lighthouses

Image
 It's a schizophrenic Saturday here in Oregon (what's new) and we're strolling in to the halfway point of the A-Z Blogging Challenge.  Today's letter brings us to a feature that many states along the coast possess and something that I've always had a fascination with... Lighthouses There are eleven total lighthouses along the Oregon Coast.  Nine were built for maritime purposes, five are still in operation, and two were privately built.  Of the eleven, nine of them are on the National Register of Historic Places.  There are five lighthouses that offer tours to visitors and each has a unique history.  Some even have sordid pasts and rumored ghosts that roam their buildings.  As a heads up, I apologize for the length of this post. From the north heading south along Highway 101, the lighthouses are as follows: Tillamook Rock Lighthouse is the furthest north and located near Seaside.  It is deactivated and the only lighthouse built offshore on a
Read more

2016 A-Z Blogging Challenge Theme Reveal

Image
Oooo...the day is getting closer; creeping stealthily, it will smack you in the face in no time! While we impatiently await the start of the challenge, it's time to reveal our themes.  Yay!  I'm going for something drastically different this year.  Something much more challenging than I've ever done in my previous four years participating in this particular challenge.  Normally my posts are pretty straight-forward, contained, not overly ambitious.  This year is going to be another beast all together. My mission, should I choose to accept it, will be to write one continuous story for the entire challenge.  I know my characters, setting, and where I want it to go...kind of.  All I need to figure out is how to get from point A to point Z.  The first word of each post will start with the letter for the day; some of these will definitely be more difficult than others, but I'm determined. I look forward to writing this, receiving feedback, and having a rip-roaring goo
Read more

C is for...Crater Lake

Image
Nearly halfway through the first week of the A-Z Challenge and we are to the letter C.  I hope everyone is plugging along nicely and not feeling pressured yet!  Today's letter is representative of... Crater Lake I love Crater Lake .  It's beautiful, fascinating, and awesome.  Located in Southern Oregon, Crater Lake is a body of water that has formed inside the remains of a once active volcano in the Cascade Range.  The caldera formed by the massive eruption of Mount Mazama 7700 years ago is now filled with crystal clear blue water and two islands; the main one being Wizard Island.  Fed only by rainfall and melting snow, the water is completely replaced every 250 years and one of the purest bodies of water in America in terms of absent pollutants.  The park is open year-round and visited by nearly half a million people annually, but many roads become impassible during the winter months. Crater Lake at sunset.  Photo by Marc Adamus Spanning some 5 miles by
Read more