"A reasonable chunk of the narrative" as NOT applying to ... ? :)

Isn't Biedermann und die Brandstifter set in Germany? (It's an allegory on Hitler's grab for power, after all.)

Themis-Athena wrote: "Isn't Biedermann und die Brandstifter set in Germany? (It's an allegory on Hitler's grab for power, after all.)"

I don't know TA. Not familiar with it at all. If you're sure, you can delete it.

We read this way back when in high school; it's a long time since I last looked at it. Max Frisch, the author, IS Swiss of course, but some of his work is a response to the Nazi barbarities and therefore either set in Germany or in some nonspecific German-speaking locale. That's what made me wonder.

This play's English title is The Firebugs (or The Fire Raisers). It's the story of an educated middle class everyman who ends up not only admitting arsonists into his house but even handing them the petrol and matches they use to burn it down ... all the while they are perfectly upfront about their intentions, but speak of them in such a way as to make him completely disbelieve they will ever act on them, until it is too late. Powerful story, even if not particularly "Swiss" in nature. I wonder if any of the other German speakers who voted on this list have any clue as to its specific setting?

I'm leaving in a week for a month in Switzerland and searched for a list like this on a whim - thanks Goodreads for literally having everything. It's too bad I'm not fluent in Swiss German...

I want to promote the sweet and innocent vintage girl's books on Switzerland written by Mabel Esther Allan. I live in Switzerland, and was blown away by the accuracy of her descriptive settings.

If you only read three of her Switzerland based books, I would recommend Ann's Alpine Adventure (for the Gotthard massif region: Andermatt, Goeschenen, Chur and surrounds), The Vine-Clad Hill aka "Swiss Holiday" in the US (for Italian Switzerland - sunny Ticino and some of northern Italy), and either Three Go to Switzerland OR Seven in Switzerland whichever is easiest to find (for the Bernese Oberland, and specifically Kandersteg, Interlaken and vicinity).

These sweet, nostalgic stories are full of alpine adventure and the joy of seeing Switzerland for the very first time. I really cannot recommend them highly enough for the sort of book you might wish to read en route to Switzerland, or as a light-hearted vicarious trip while seated on your sofa at home.

(I far prefer these to Stella Gibbon's Swiss Summer - Mabel Esther Allan clearly had a much sharper eye for detail and a real gift for relaying it. Only real complaint is that the names she uses for characters (both given and family names) aren't generally very typically Swiss, but nevermind).

Hope it helps. They really are hidden gems, these stories!

I'm out of votes (on the "Switzerland" list, too). Here's one I can't add - maybe someone else could?

Journey to America "...Her father knew they had to escape, and he left for America in the middle of the night. He promised to send for Lisa, her mother, and her two sisters when there was enough money. Until then, they were to live in Switzerland. And so they did, waiting, in hardship none of them could ever have imagined."


The Shadow Conspiracy (Matterhorn on the cover), "...His journey will take him from the Bay of Bengal to the murky depths of the Gibraltar strait, from the Swiss Alps to an island untouched for over 30,000 years, all in pursuit of this fateful knowledge..."


Peter Camenzind (Zurich, fictional Nimikon) "Peter Camenzind, a young man from a Swiss mountain village, leaves his home and eagerly takes to the road in search of new experience. Traveling through Italy and France, Camenzind is increasingly disillusioned by the suffering he discovers around him; after failed romances and a tragic friendship, his idealism fades into crushing hopelessness. He finds peace again only when he cares for Boppi, an invalid who renews Camenzind's love for humanity and inspires him once again to find joy in the smallest details of every life."

The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Lucerne is another I can't add. :( Juvenile audience.

Heaven Has No Favorites

Tensions and problems of life in a tuberculosis sanatorium high in the Swiss Alps, and the tragic love story of a vivacious girl and a grand prix race-track driver.

The Girl In The Green Valley
"Marnie had left London and an unhappy romance to work at a ski resort in the French Alps. 'See you on the ski slopes, ' she had said to Robert the day before she went. She certainly didn't imagine that he would take her literally and follow her out there. What would David think?" (Harlequin)

Also Until I Find You by John Irving- Zürich is the location (Sanitorium there. Also Hotel zum Storchen and Kilchberg).


Pilgrim is partially set at Burghölzli Psychiatric Clinic in Zürich