Books in English by writers from Liechtenstein are hard to find, so these two are wider picks: books by long-time residents, outsiders who know the place well, folk tales and history with a strong feel for Liechtenstein.
Liechtenstein has only about 40,000 people, and little of its literature is available in English. German is the official language, and everyday speech is an Alemannic dialect shared with neighbouring Switzerland and Vorarlberg. Few books by its writers are set there, so the way in is an outsider's view of the place alongside a local voice.
Paul Gallico's Ludmila (1954) is a gentle tale based on a local legend, about a scrawny cow who longs to lead the herd home from the Alpine pastures. Gallico was American, but the story draws on the country's dairy and religious traditions, and it is the easiest place to start. Michael Donhauser, born in Vaduz, writes in German. His Of Things, translated by Nick Hoff and Andrew Joron, is a book of prose poems about ordinary objects. It isn't about Liechtenstein, but it is a chance to hear one of its own writers.
By long-time residents and outsiders who know the place well, or folk tales, poetry and history with a strong feel for Liechtenstein.
A novella set in 1820s Liechtenstein about a scrawny, low-yielding cow who prays to Saint Ludmila so she can lead the herd down from the summer pastures.
Meditative prose poems on everyday objects and landscape by a poet long based in Liechtenstein; it offers a literary sensibility, not a portrait of the country.
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