Book Review: Schottenfreude by Ben Schott
Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it.
The German language is well known for its ability to agglutinate words together to create new words, such as zeitgeist, “the spirit of the times.” Mr. Schott has done this to create 120 new words to describe sensations or activities that don’t already have German words. For example, “LIppenhaftung”, the lingering sensation of a first kiss.
The word are nicely laid out in old-style German lettering on what look like music staves, so that those of you who practice calligraphy can copy them. Many of the words are mildly funny, and a couple look like they’d actually be useful. The real meat of the book is in the footnotes and references for each word. There are plenty of quotes and philosophical musings.
It’s not really a very practical book, perhaps best used as a fun gift for someone who already has studied some German and will be able to fully appreciate the puns.
