German Literature (Classics)
Works I would consider german literary classics. "German" in this context means "written in German", not "written by a German author", therefore Swiss, Austrian, and other authors will also be included on this list, provided they wrote their works in German.
created by mythos
last updated August, 2026
Comments
Heyyy so me personally like to read side by side. So for example I read Emilia Galotti (loved this book and it’s a short one) in German and keep the one in your mother language nearby to parallel read it if I don’t understand anything.
I did this with my first English books. But as the others are saying I also started with children’s books (I did this with Harry Potter - before I cancelled JKR lol - and I did this with the books by holly bourne. The English version was “am I normal yet” and the German one was “was ist schon normal”. Those are cute girly stories in easy language. Maybe pick a book you already like in your language and buy this one in German?
Oh man this list is perfect for me! I immigrated to Germany a few years ago and reading is the hardest part of the language. Do you have a suggestion on which book is the best to start with for someone with less than great reading skills?
I would second Die unendliche Geschichte by Michael Ende. Momo by the same author shouldn't be too difficult to read as well. Though I am a German native speaker, so I can't really judge what is or isn't easy to read for someone learning the language.
Whatever I pick up will definitely be a challenge but maybe it's time for me to take that on! Thanks for the suggestions!
mythosOP
Hi! When I started learning German, I also found reading to be the hardest part! Have you already read many books in German? Depending on if you have or have not, it might be easier to start with other books, such as either children's books, teen books, or books you've already read in your native language. As for classics, Die unendliche Geschichte by Michael Ende, though not on this list and also I have not read it, is probably the best place to start, since it's a children's/teen's book. Heidi by Johanna Spyri, also a children's/teen's book, might also be a good place to start (though I don't have it here and can't check the style/vocab). I personnally would avoid plays like Goethe's and Schiller's at first (complex vocabulary, sometimes hard to understand even for native speakers) or Büchner's Woyzeck (convoluted story, fragmentary and non-sensical dialog). I currently don't have some of the books listed here with me, so I can't check the level of all of them. I would say that Zweig isn't too bad, the vocab can be a bit specific. Kafka's Die Verwandlung isn't too complicated either, and though I haven't read it, Christa Wolf's Kassandra's style could also be ok. I'm sorry to not be able to help you further, and I also don't know if my evaluations are trustworthy 🙈 Anyways, I wish you all the best in Germany and in your German-reading journey!
I've mostly avoided reading for fun in German because it's so intimidating. I have issues with the basic letters I get in the mail and triple read emails I have to get lol. I passed my B2 test with a really good result but the fear never goes away. I'll have to give some of these a try and give my wife a happy surprise that I'm finally giving it a go!
mythosOP
I understand being intimidated. I'm wishing you all the best, and don't get discouraged if it gets hard - you can do it!
The fact that i read so many of these for school is lowkey sad cause they‘re good books, i just default to hating them cause i was forced to read them :(
mythosOP
Totally understand that. I'm lucky that didn't happen to me for German, only for English 🙈 I really hated reading Unter der Drachenwand, though.
