LotR - Germany's favorite book! - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Estelyn Telcontar · 10-05-2004, 10:48 AM

The Lord of the Rings has been chosen as Germany's favorite book! In a non-representative vote, sponsored by one of the public TV channels, it topped the list, with the Bible coming in second. I was surprised by the result, as the German translation of the book is not so outstanding, but apparently it still fascinates enough German-speaking readers to be able to win over books originally written in German.

There are certainly some explanations for this result - the movies caused a renewed interest in the book, the media-active age group of the 14 - 29-year-olds rated it highest, and it is the only book by its author that is in the limelight - other books, such as the Harry Potter books and books by German authors such as Herman Hesse and Thomas Mann were listed individually, which caused the votes for their authors to be split. Nonetheless, it shows the impact the book makes even when translated!

Congratulations, Tolkien!

(For those who can read German and would like more information, here is a link: Das Grosse Lesen)

10-05-2004, 10:48 AM	#1
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	LotR - Germany's favorite book! The Lord of the Rings has been chosen as Germany's favorite book! In a non-representative vote, sponsored by one of the public TV channels, it topped the list, with the Bible coming in second. I was surprised by the result, as the German translation of the book is not so outstanding, but apparently it still fascinates enough German-speaking readers to be able to win over books originally written in German. There are certainly some explanations for this result - the movies caused a renewed interest in the book, the media-active age group of the 14 - 29-year-olds rated it highest, and it is the only book by its author that is in the limelight - other books, such as the Harry Potter books and books by German authors such as Herman Hesse and Thomas Mann were listed individually, which caused the votes for their authors to be split. Nonetheless, it shows the impact the book makes even when translated! Congratulations, Tolkien! (For those who can read German and would like more information, here is a link: Das Grosse Lesen) __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'