A Broad in Swabia: Memoir from the Black Forest

Rating:
Summary: Stereotypes and cliches
Review: As a frequent traveler to the Black Forest, I found this book filled with stereotypes and cliches of the German people and culture. Swabia is a distinctly separate region of Germany--while it does in fact border the eastern side of the Black Forest, it is not the Black Forest. This book, in fact, reinforces the "ugly American" stereotype Europeans use when describing us. There are numerous errors in the book. For example, Alemania, alemmanic, and derivative words do not originate from the French word for Germany...it originates from the name of the ancient tribes who populated the area centuries before there was a German or French language
.
Too bad. Books about the southwestern corner of Germany are few and far in between. This is a celebrated crossroads of European and human history that is too often ignored.

Rating:
Summary: A Broad in Swabia --
Review: I was thrilled to engage with this witty and sophisticated book. Even though I know very little of Swabia, I particularly enjoyed the transcultural flavour which brought the narrative together. Jarvis rivals many of America's great humorists.

Jean Paul Boudreau,
Ryerson University, Toronto

Rating:
Summary: Provocative humor
Review: Marcy Jarvis's A Broad in Swabia is a real find. Once I started to read, I couldn't put down the book. The style is engaging and energetic, and the stories leap off the page. A strong and powerful voice.

Irene Gammel, Prince Edward Island

Rating:
Summary: Provocative humor
Review: The turd from Sturgis got one thing right in his bash below -- Swabia is a rich crossroads of human civilization that very little has been written about in recent years. That's why I was pleased to read such a humorous account of an outsider's struggle to acclimate to life here at this fascinating time in history. Jarvis does give us the ugly American in all her glory
but far from stereotypically -- she delves into distinct and idiosyncratic material that highlights everything that is to be admired and to be questioned on both sides of "the pond." She highlights ancient traditions that may soon go the way of a Wal-Mart Christmas, takes reality TV shows to task, and illuminates the Black Forest with a torch so that anyone who wants to may find their way in or out.