Olivia, or The Invisible Lamp

Wassermann, Jakob, 1873-1934Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 246K words
Chapters: 25

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. Olivia oder Die unsichtbare Lampe by Jakob Wassermann. Author: Wassermann, Jakob, 1873-1934. Language: German. Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures. Release Date: Jun 18, 2007

Editor's review

Jakob Wassermann was a major novelist of early twentieth-century German-language literature, and his narratives move deftly between realistic detail and hidden symbolism. The title Olivia oder Die unsichtbare Lampe itself points to the image of the "invisible lamp," so readers can expect a work with psychological depth and layers of metaphor. This book is released free by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain eBook; reading the original German can help readers engage with early twentieth-century German prose style. Note that the available material provides only bibliographic and release information, with no plot summary, so specific guesses about the story would be inappropriate. As for reading situations, it is better suited to extended reading by enthusiasts of German literature, or as supplementary material for understanding Wassermann's creative profile, rather than as an entry-level diversion. The electronic edition is easy to search and use for comparative reading, and works well alongside a print or annotated edition.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with some German reading ability who want to explore early twentieth-century German fiction
Researchers and enthusiasts interested in Wassermann and the German literature of his time
University students who need public-domain German texts for language learning or textual analysis
Readers accustomed to e-reading who want free access to classic literary originals

Not a good fit for

Beginners with weak German who need a Chinese translation to read smoothly
Readers of popular fiction expecting fast-paced plots and clearly genre-defined stories
Researchers who need authoritative annotations, introductions, or scholarly editions

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to gauge the language difficulty, then decide whether to proceed with a dictionary or a bilingual edition.
While reading, note recurring images such as the "lamp" and watch how their symbolic role changes in the plot.
You may consult biographical material on Wassermann and background on early twentieth-century German literature to aid understanding of the text's context.
Use the e-edition's search function to organize character names and keywords, making it easier to review and sort out the threads.

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

Is there a Chinese translation of this book?

The available material does not provide information about a Chinese translation. This is a German public-domain eBook released by Project Gutenberg, and readers can access the original German directly. For reading in Chinese, other publication information must be sought independently; this entry makes no guesses.

What level of German is needed to read this book?

The work is an early twentieth-century German novel, and its syntax and vocabulary carry period features, so an intermediate or higher level of German reading ability is recommended. Beginners may first try reading with a dictionary or a bilingual edition before deciding whether to read it through.

Why is there no story content in the introduction?

The supplied material includes only the author, language, classification, and release information, with no plot summary. To avoid inventing details that are not in the book, this recommendation focuses only on confirmed bibliographic information and ways of reading.

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About the author

Wassermann, Jakob, 1873-1934 Author

Jakob Wassermann (1873-1934) is a notable novelist and essayist in early twentieth-century German-language literature. Public information about him is limited, and details of his life are difficult to verify, yet the twenty-one works held in the collection reveal the diversity of his output. Novels such as The World's Illusion and The Man of Forty show his sustained attention to individual fate and inner life, while Caspar Hauser, or the Inertia of the Heart uses a historical figure to examine human nature and society. Story collections including The Never-Kissed Lips and The Conductress are concise in style, drawing on everyday subjects with psychological depth. He also wrote essays and studies, such as Imaginary Bridges, and addressed his own identity in My Way as a German and a Jew. His works often interweave realistic observation, psychological portrayal, and moral inquiry, in a composed and reflective style.