Reading on Location (Part 4): Germany

Firstly, I hope everyone has a lovely Easter long weekend :-)This week I continue my reading on location lists, following on from my list for France and Italy with books set in Germany.There's currently only one  book set in Germany on my TBR shelf that I bought prior to my trip and that's The Book Thief by Aussie author Markus Zusak. It's a much talked about book, an award winner and it's something I've wanted to read for a long time. Set in Munich, a place I'll be visiting very soon I thought it very fitting to bump it up on my TBR pile. In fact this might be one of the paperbacks that I decide to take away with me. 

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.

So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

I can't actually recall any books I've recently read that are set in Germany, but I did read The Ambassador's Daughter that is set in Paris but has a German protagonist.If you have any recommendations, feel free to leave a comment. I'd be interested in reading a Germany-set book that is not in the war era, perhaps a contemporary story or even a must-read classic.