Hello, EF's people.

I've been living in switzerland for about a year and now that my german level is a bit better (B2), I would like to read genuine swiss literature in order to understand the 'swiss sense of humor' - if such thing exists...

I though about reading some acid swiss literature, but taking a quick look online, I couldn't relate to any of those ' famous swiss writers', so now I've lowered my expectations and am looking forward to read some swiss literature at all. Have any of you read interesting swiss authors?

Thank you in advance,
Luana

Here you are
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_S...Schriftsteller

From that list I have read:
Evelyne Hasler, Franz Hohler, Mani Matter, Max Frisch, Hermann Hesse

Have fun googling!

But careful, if you are looking for funny books, I don't know if you will find any. Swiss literature is known to be quite dark and cynical. Although Mani Matter does make me laugh with his macabre songs...

An acclaimed current-day author is Zoe Jenny.

I like Martin Suter.

Thank you, Sarel!
From all you wrote down, I have read just Hesse. I will take a look at the others.
At first I thought of asking if there's some kind of Oscar Wilde of Switzerland, so I will take a look at this sharp hands!

Thanks, Tilia!
I will take a look.

Thank you, Brio.
I will also take a look at her.

I've always thought Hermann Hesse was German

What about Johanna Spyri

Russian by birth, he was Swiss citizen from 1883 to 1890 and again from 1823.

I've just checked it on Wikipedia. It says he was born in Germany .

Hermann Hesse was born on 2 July 1877 in the Black Forest town of Calw in Württemberg, Germany. Both of Hesse's parents served in India at a mission under the auspices of the Basel Mission, a Protestant Christian missionary society. Hesse's mother, Marie Gundert, was born at such a mission in India in 1842. In describing her own childhood, she said, "A happy child I was not..." As was usual among missionaries at the time, she was left behind in Europe at the age of four when her parents went to India.[2] In her teens she attempted to rebel against her authoritarian father, Hermann Gundert, but finally submitted.[3]
Hesse's father, Johannes Hesse, the son of a doctor, was born in 1847 in the Estonian town of Paide (Weissenstein).

Being born in Germany doesn't make you German (and Germany as we know it today didn't exist then anyway, it was still Württemberg). That shouldn't be a reason against reading Hermann Hesse …

Friedrich Dürrenmatt is another well-known one, although I was put off him by having to read one of his books for German A-level, when I was surely not ready for it.

If want to read a less well known work of Dürrenmatt 'Labyrinth: Stoffe I-III' is well worth being read. It is a late work of him. He writes about the "history of his topics", as he is not important enough to write an "autobiography" (as he says). Each of the three parts of the book has an autobiographic introduction. Then follows a story, which is a topic that didn't make it into a book or in one case the initial concept for "Der Besuch der Alten Dame". This stories are extremely grotesque and often quite cynical, but in my opinion it is one of his best books.

You should not forget, that before the first world war the German part of Switzerland was culturally part of Germany. And there were probably more people with German citizenship living in Switzerland then today.

I'd say rather Hugo Loetscher. Waschküchenschlüssel is a classic but there are quite a few witty ones, high level of German necessary.

Die Entdeckung der Schweiz
Die Fliege und die Suppe
Der Buckel

Dürrenmatt is not for second language learners, it's often linked to theory of literature and tragedy, not only his drama but also the so called three Krimis.

It sure as sh!t doesn't make him Russian though.

Hesse is German as is his literature.

Well, for the most part of his live he lived in Switzerland, thus Swiss of German origins may be more appropriate. Regarding weather Hesse's literature was Swiss or German. Every Swiss author that writes in German produces first and foremost German literature. The term Swiss literature (if written in German) has to be understood in the same way as Bavarian literature or Baden-Würthenbergian literature. It is simply the German literature produced in said regions. As Hesse was living in Switzerland while he wrote some of his greatest works. He can at least partially be considered a Swiss author. There are people who even argue that the city the "Steppenwolf" is set in is in Switzerland (which makes sense if you believe that the book is autobiographic). But you have to keep in mind that Hesse always saw himself (culturally) as a German even as a Swiss citizen (in his eyes German speaking Switzerland was German, too).

Absolutely. Frisch and Dürrenmatt had no problem with that either. Literature written in German is German literature, the Swiss question is a topic of literature but not its nature. It would be like mistaking the object for the subject.

How about a list of French speaking Swiss authors?