Explore the latest books of this year!
Bookbot

Sez Ner Series

This series delves into the raw yet lyrical beauty of mountain life. Through short, evocative prose pieces, it captures the daily experiences, sensory details, and human connections within remote alpine communities. The authors masterfully weave together natural imagery with a profound understanding of the human spirit, creating a unique atmosphere brimming with both ruggedness and tenderness. It is a literary journey that celebrates the simplicity and resilience of life amidst nature.

The Alp
Behind the station
Ustrinkata

Recommended Reading Order

  1. 1

    The Alp

    • 96 pages
    • 4 hours of reading
    3.6(25)Add rating

    The first novel in Arno Camenisch's celebrated "alpine" trilogy is set during a single summer. The four main (unnamed) characters are a dairyman, his farmhand, a cowherd, and a swineherd who all live and work in close proximity--but this is no "Heidi." Theirs is an existence marked by dangerous work, solitude, cruelty, alcoholism, and sheer stubbornness; but the author's handling of these situations and lives is characterized at all times by affection, surreal humor, and a brilliant ear for the sounds of the setting.

    The Alp
  2. 2

    Behind the station

    • 100 pages
    • 4 hours of reading
    3.8(10)Add rating

    In the second book of Arno Camenisch's Alp trilogy, "Behind the Station," is told through the eyes of two young brothers growing up in a small, secluded village in a valley flanked by the alpine mountains. Written in the same style as "The Alp," we start to believe that there's little difference between the children and the adults in this village, save for their love for mischief and ghost stories. The grandmother, the parents, and the neighbors: it is an amphitheater full of drama, somehow colored through the eyes of children. Arno Camenisch's quiet control and powerful descriptions of village life prove that he is an international voice to follow.

    Behind the station
  3. 3

    Ustrinkata

    • 96 pages
    • 4 hours of reading
    3.5(41)Add rating

    Es ist der letzte Abend in der Helvezia, der Alkohol fliesst in Strömen wie der junge Rhein, und wes des Herzen voll ist, des geht der Mund über: Jetzt heisst es Austrinken! Noch einmal sitzen sie um den runden Tisch, der Otto, die Tante, der Luis, der Giachen und mit ihnen all die andern, die noch leben oder schon lange tot sind. Arno Camenisch hört ihren tragischen und zugleich komischen Geschichten genau zu, mit seinem präzisen Sinn für den Klang und die Eigentümlichkeiten ihrer Sprache hält er diese von Tod und Vergessen, von Naturgewalten und menschlichen Abgründen, von Hochwassern und Liebeswirren, von Steinschlägen und Händeln bedrohte Welt lebendig. Auf unverkennbar eigenwillige Art beschliesst Arno Camenisch mit "Ustrinkata" nach "Sez Ner" und "Hinter dem Bahnhof" seine äusserst erfolgreiche Bündner Trilogie - es geht alles zu Ende, aber so lange einer noch erzählt, ist das letzte Glas nicht ausgetrunken.

    Ustrinkata