A declaration of love for Swiss literature

by Elisabeth Schriber

(15 October 2021) A friend handed me this book and asked me to write a review. I was greatly surprised that there are supposed to be 99 Swiss writers in Switzerland? A few came to mind from the time of my German studies at university. But 99 was a most impressive number. Of course, my interest was aroused and I started reading the preface, in which the publishers describe the makings of this work in a very vivid way. But read it for yourself:

"'What other Swiss books are there actually besides Heidi?' The question hits home. We are having dinner in a cosy restaurant in Dublin with four ladies from London and Stockholm. They work in finance and communications, and enjoy reading in their spare time. The athmosphere is animated, merry, we talk about literature, about countries -– but the question keeps lingering.

The first names we drop don’t elicit any reactions: Max Frisch and Friedrich Dürrenmatt, two classics. Shaking heads at Friedrich Glauser, after all one of the greatest crime writers of the 20th century. Nor Pascal Mercier, whose 'Night Train to Lisbon' was film-produced with Hollywood star Jeremy Irons. Also missing are the literary giant Charles Ferdinand Ramuz from the French speaking part of Switzerland as well as the adventurers and globetrotters Anne-Marie Schwarzenbach and Ella Maillart. Then astonishment set in: 'Are you saying Madame de Staël is Swiss? And Joël Dicker too...'

Back in Zurich, we cannot forget the confusion from Dublin. How firmly is Swiss literature anchored here in Switzerland? Which authors are known and read? The five of us debate, exchange ideas about our reading experiences and about books that we consider important, that have left their mark on us. We talk to literary agents, writers, librarians, booksellers, professors, journalists and avid readers and come to two conclusions: The literature that is and has been written in Switzerland is a veritable treasure trove of stories and characters and says a lot about this country, its development, its peculiarities and the people who live and have lived here. It is rich in artistic approaches: some texts brim with an experimental spirit and burst with linguistic sparkle, others have a long epic breath. But, and this is the second realisation, Swiss literature is also far too little known in this country. Apart from the classics and the current bestsellers, this literary wealth is hardly known. If we look at the other parts of the country and the language regions [German, French, Italian, Romansh, edit. note], the result is even more sobering. […]

The book is a singular declaration of love for Swiss literature. Following the principle of reading for pleasure and a 'matter of the heart', the editors Pascal Ihle, Christine Lötscher, Sonja Lüthi, Thomas Ribi and Sandra Valisa devote themselves to 99 books from the last 250 years from all four language regions of Switzerland. The selected novels, stories, poems, children's books and comics impress with their quality, creativity and timelessness."

(Translation "Swiss Standpoint")

"99 beste Schweizer Bücher" (99 best Swiss books). Edited by Pascal Ihle, Christine Lötscher, Sonja Lüthi, Thomas Ribi, Sandra Valisa. Verlag nagel-kimche.ch, Zurich 2020. ISBN 978-3-312-01176-6