Schadenfreude, a Love Story

Me, the Germans, and 20 Years of Attempted Transformations, Unfortunate Miscommunications, and Humiliating Situations That Only They Have Words For

De: Rebecca Schuman

Narrado por: Christa Lewis

Schadenfreude is the story of a teenage Jewish intellectual who falls in love - in love with a boy (who breaks her heart), a language (that's nearly impossible to master), a culture (that's nihilistic but punctual), and a landscape (that's breathtaking when there's not a wall in the way).

Rebecca is an everyday, misunderstood '90s teenager with a passion for Pearl Jam and Ethan Hawke circa Reality Bites until two men walk into her high school civics class: Dylan Gellner, with deep-brown eyes and an even deeper soul, and Franz Kafka, hitching a ride in Dylan's backpack. These two men are the ax to the frozen sea that is Rebecca's spirit, and what flows forth is a passion for all things German. First love might be fleeting, but Kafka is forever, and in pursuit of this elusive passion Rebecca will spend two decades stuttering and stumbling through German sentences, trying to win over a people who can't be bothered.

Schadenfreude, a Love Story is an exhilarating, hilarious, and yes, maybe even heartfelt memoir proving that sometimes the truest loves play hard to get.

©2017 Rebecca Schuman (P)2017 Tantor

this lady can write!

i love david foster wallace for his novels and his essays (eg, “a supposedly fun thing...”)
this author reminds me of dfw but without the run-on sentences and endnotes. A few common elements: both like to show off, which is so tedious unless the show offer is indeed very clever, as indeed dfw and ms. schuman clearly are. Oh, and i now can correctly pronounce “schadenfreude” and i can’t wait to correct someone con public

For German students

Youhave to be a student of German language, Germanistik, to fully appreciate this story. Having had some of the same experiences with German culture and language myself much of it truly resonated with me.

A humorous, delectable read

This book brings back the memories of a misspent youth in the 90s and oughts: the angst, the poor choices, and the luck of getting it right. I found myself finding ways to continue the book. Doesn't the dog need another walk? Yes, definitely. Even if you are not into the German language, Schuman will keep you laughing and cringing in embarrassment along the way. Besides, I feel like I have totally expanded my German vocabulary. The reading was also excellent!

Delightful and Insightful

Could not put this book down! It is an unexpected mix of language, culture, coming of age and the pains of Academia. loved it so much!