Barefoot

Auerbach, Berthold, 1812-1882Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 369K words
Chapters: 37

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Avojalka by Berthold AuerbachAuthor: Auerbach, Berthold, 1812-1882,Language: Finnish, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Jun 26, 2006

Editor's review

Berthold Auerbach was an important writer of regional narrative in nineteenth-century German-language literature. Avojalka, one of his works, has been prepared by Project Gutenberg as a Finnish-language electronic edition, offering a concrete sample for studying how German literature was translated and circulated in the Nordic region. The value of reading this book lies not in the force of its plot but in observing how nineteenth-century rural ethics, religious feeling, and individual fate are woven together in narrative, and in Auerbach's gentle attention to ordinary people. The electronic edition comes from public-domain resources, with a complete text that is freely available, making it suitable as material for comparative literature or translation studies. Because the main text is in Finnish, readers should have the corresponding language ability, and reading is best done at a slower pace, with reference to the broader context of nineteenth-century German regional literature. For readers who want a quiet piece of narrative for the commute or before sleep, the length and tone of this book are both comparatively friendly.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers with Finnish reading ability who are interested in the translation and circulation of German literature
Advanced learners of Finnish who wish to encounter nineteenth-century narrative texts
Readers interested in European regional literature and rural ethics
Teachers who need public-domain electronic texts as course materials for comparative literature

Not a good fit for

Readers with no Finnish foundation who hope to read a story easily
Fans of genre fiction who seek strong plots and fast-paced narrative
Beginning readers who hope for detailed annotations or a translator's introduction

Reading tips

First read a chapter straight through to get a feel for the narrative tone, then go back and sort out the character relationships and rural settings.
Compare with Auerbach's German original or related research materials to understand the linguistic shifts in translation.
Read this book within the context of nineteenth-century German regional literature, paying attention to ethical and religious threads.
Use the search function of the electronic edition to mark recurring place names and forms of address for characters, to aid understanding.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What language is the main text of this book in?

According to the public-domain information, this is the Finnish edition. Finnish ability is required before reading; otherwise it can be treated as a text for translation studies rather than direct leisure reading.

What is the background of the author Auerbach?

Berthold Auerbach (1812–1882) was a nineteenth-century German writer known for regional narrative. This book is one of his works; further details on its background can be found in literary-historical materials.

Why does the electronic edition lack detailed annotations?

This book comes from Project Gutenberg's public-domain electronic text, which mainly provides freely accessible source texts and usually does not include scholarly annotations or a translator's introduction. In-depth reading requires supplementary reference materials.

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About the author

Auerbach, Berthold, 1812-1882 Author

Berthold Auerbach (1812–1882) was a nineteenth-century German-language writer. Fourteen of his works are held in this collection, including Black Forest Village Stories, Villa Eden: The Country-House on the Rhine, On the Heights, Joseph in the Snow, and The Clockmaker (in three volumes), Edelweiss, and Waldfried. Public information about his life is limited, and biographical details are difficult to verify, but his works show that he excelled at depicting village and small-town life in a plain, delicate style, often conveying concern for the fate of ordinary people through everyday events. His stories are strongly regional and realistic, written in simple, vivid language, and hold a place in the tradition of German regional fiction; English translations have also brought them to a wider readership.