Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane

[marny_h96]

In 1919 Thomas Mann hailed Effi Briest (1895) as one of "the six most significant novels ever written." Set in Bismarck's Germany, Fontane's luminous tale of a socially suitable but emotionally disastrous match between the enchanting seventeen-year-old Effi and an austere, workaholic civil servant twice her age, is at once touching and unsettling. Fontane's taut, ironic narrative depicts a world where sexuality and the enjoyment of life are stifled by narrow-mindedness and circumstance. Considered by many to be the pinnacle of the nineteenth-century German novel, Effi Briest is a tale of adultery that ranks with Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina and brilliantly demonstrates the truth of the author's comment and "women's stories are generally far more interesting." (from Amazon.com)

I first read "Effi Briest" in school and thought it was boring. I later re-read it and enjoyed it a lot even though it is a very "slow" book. There's no action or hot sex scenes but the story offers a realistic view of life in 19th century Prussia.

Supposedly, Fontane's inspiration for "Effi Briest" was Elisabeth von Ardenne, the grandmother of physicist and inventor Manfred von Ardenne, although a lot of details where changed by Fontane.

I recommend this book (and Fontane's other works) for everyone who's interested in learning about Prussia and Prussian life without having to read a history book.