| Deutsche Krimis 2 | |
| Part 2: Why Read Krimis? | |
Besides the fact that they are spannend (exciting), German Krimis offer other sound reasons for German-learners to open them up. Here are a few good reasons why you should consider making the effort to read Krimis:
Friedrich Dürrenmatt's Der Verdacht
was the basis for the Hollywood film
“The Pledge,” starring Jack Nicholson.
Poster: Warner Brothers
1. A German mystery contains lots of dialogue, everyday expressions and vocabulary. Although you may not really need to use many German “crime” words yourself, most Krimi vocabulary is alltäglich.
2. Reading German books of any kind is a great vocabulary builder, but Krimis offer the added benefit of a writing style that is generally pretty direct and straightforward, without the stylistic complications you'll find in the E-Literatur of contemporary German literary “greats” like Günter Grass or Austria's Peter Handke.
3. Reading about New York City or other Krimi locales in German can be interesting. How does German describe a skyscraper, a dark alley or other urban features?
4. Some mysteries or detective stories by German authors are set in German locations. Works by Jacques Berndorf and others describe regional places and life in Germany and Europe. Berndorf sets all of his Krimis in his own Eifel region.
5. Reading a mystery by a respected author of German literature (e.g., Dürrenmatt, Hoffmann, etc.) lets you accomplish two things at the same time: gain vocabulary and immerse yourself in good literature. Often you will also discover a source of popular culture such as Friedrich Dürrenmatt's Der Verdacht being the source material for the movie “The Pledge.” (Although it's not a Krimi, Arthur Schnitzler's Traumnovelle was also the source for Stanley Kubrick's “Eyes Wide Shut.”)
6. Reading Krimis is fun! It is a rather painless and enjoyable way to learn both more German and more about German culture (with a small c).
NEXT > German Print-On-Demand Books
> 1: Deutsche Krimis
> 2: Why Read Krimis?
> 3: German Print-On-Demand Books
> 4: Krimi-Links
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