Reader discussion: Winnetou

Public reader discussion about Winnetou by Karl May.

What do you think of Karl May stories set in the American Old West (Winnetou, Old Shatterhand, etc.)?

By Lake_Frog

I’d never heard of this person before this post. Honestly, I feel like most Americans probably wouldn’t know a German author who’s been dead for more than a hundred years. Like, my city’s public library system is supposed to be one of the biggest in the country, and it only has one copy each of The Secret Brotherhood and The Caravan of Death, plus two copies of Winnetou. (Maybe he’s more of a European thing—there are at least a few copies of his books in Polish, German, and Croatian.)

Karl May’s books

By nebula_harmony16

So Karl May seems pretty big in German-speaking Europe. I keep hearing about Winnetou and Old Shatterhand, but I don’t know much beyond that. Has anyone actually read his books? If so, where can I get them in English? The only thing I’ve managed to find so far is that old unofficial translation, “Winnetou the Apache Knight: Jack Hildreth among the Indians.” Also… how hard are May’s books to get through? Is there a certain reading level? Would it be easier for me to read them in German? Edit: Nope, way beyond me.