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Wolfgang Herrndorf
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Why We Took The Car Hardcover – January 7, 2014

by Wolfgang Herrndorf (Author), Tim Mohr (Translator)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 226 ratings
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A darkly funny coming-of-age story from an award-winning, bestselling German author making his American debut.

Mike Klingenberg doesn't get why people think he's boring. Sure, he doesn't have many friends. (Okay, zero friends.) And everyone laughs at him when he reads his essays out loud in class. And he's never invited to parties - including the gorgeous Tatiana's party of the year.Andre Tschichatschow, aka Tschick (not even the teachers can pronounce his name), is new in school, and a whole different kind of unpopular. He always looks like he's just been in a fight, his clothes are tragic, and he never talks to anyone.But one day Tschick shows up at Mike's house out of the blue. Turns out he wasn't invited to Tatiana's party either, and he's ready to do something about it. Forget the popular kids: Together, Mike and Tschick are heading out on a road trip. No parents, no map, no destination. Will they get hopelessly lost in the middle of nowhere? Probably. Will they meet crazy people and get into serious trouble? Definitely. But will they ever be called boring again? Not a chance.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Arthur A. Levine Books
  4. Publication date
    January 7, 2014
  5. Grade level
    9 - 12
  6. Reading age
    14 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    6 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    9780545481809
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0545481809
  10. Lexile measure
    HL770L
  11. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

German teenager Mike Klingenberg is an average student. He goes unnoticed by the other students, has an unrequited crush on the hottest girl in class, and is just a bit boring. But when Andrej Tschichatschow, aka Tschick, shows up, things change. Tschick is definitely interesting—he sleeps in class, always looks like he’s been in a fight, and just might be part of the Russian Mafia. When Mike and Tschick are not invited to popular girl Tatiana’s summer birthday party, they decide an adventure is in store. They steal a car and head out on a road trip across Germany. Do they have any idea what they’re doing? Not a clue. But this is their chance to take charge and do something. While some of their mishaps are a bit over-the-top and Tschick’s big secret is revealed without much of a punch, Mike’s journey from dull to confident teen is an enjoyable one. Well translated, this is a good choice for readers looking for a contemporary realistic novel with a humorous sense of adventure. Grades 9-12. --Sarah Bean Thompson

Review

Praise for Why We Took the Car:

* ""[An] action- and emotion-packed story of surprise summer adventure . . . this alternately wild, sad, hilarious, and tender tale chronicles the development of a strange and beautiful friendship." ―Publishers Weekly, starred review

* ""In his first novel translated into English, Herrndorf sits squarely and triumphantly at the intersection of literary tall tale and coming-of-age picaresque." ―Kirkus, starred review

"Surprising, tender and deliciously absurd . . . [A] funny, poignant, and intermittently profane and raunchy novel." ―The Wall Street Journal

"Buckle your seat belt. You're in for a bumpy, exhilarating ride . . . in this lively bildungsroman, rich with funny, poignant riffs on nicknames, boomerangs, Beyoncé, aging and the possibility of life on other planets." ―The Washington Post

"A sharp coming-of-age journey, hilarious and heartrending in equal measure." ―Horn Book

"[A] compelling coming-of-age tale. [Herrndorf's] authentic voice will resonate universally with teens and will draw some comparisons to Holden Caulfield and Huck Finn." ―VOYA



Publishers Weekly Starred Review
German novelist Herrndorf makes his YA (and U.S.) debut with this action- and emotion-packed story of surprise summer adventure. When German eighth-grader Mike Klingenberg discovers that he’s among the few “Boring kids and losers... Russians, Nazis and idiots” who are not invited to his crush Tatiana’s birthday party, he is devastated. Mike is facing a miserable summer, with his mother in rehab and father away at a “business meeting” with his sexy assistant, when his new Russian classmate, Tschick (whom Mike considers “trash”), arrives at his house in a stolen car. An unlikely compatibility leads to a candy-fueled road trip, complicated by their lack of a map or cell phone. Driving all over Germany, the boys face conundrums like avoiding the police, buying gas and food when clearly underage, and vaguely seeking Tschick’s grandfather. Prepared by life to expect ill will, Mike and Tschick instead meet “almost only people from the one percent who weren’t bad.” Beginning at the end, with Mike narrating the explanation suggested by the title, this alternately wild, sad, hilarious, and tender tale chronicles the development of a strange and beautiful friendship.


A Kirkus Best Book of the Year

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0545481805
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Arthur A. Levine Books (January 7, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780545481809
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0545481809
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 years and up
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ HL770L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 9 - 12
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 226 ratings

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Wolfgang Herrndorf

Wolfgang Herrndorf

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
226 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kevin McCloskey
5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended by the German Ambassador!
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2018
Verified Purchase
I found this book funny and touching. I bought this book after it was recommended in a Conde Nast Traveller article. Diplomats stationed in the U.S. were asked suggest a book that might give visitors a sense of their country. Peter Wittig, German Ambassador to the U.S, suggested Why We Took the Car. He was quoted as saying,“Tschick is about two 14-year-old boys, both social outcasts, one from a bourgeois background, the other a Russian returnee, who “borrow" a car, take a road trip, and develop an unusual friendship."
Note: Tschick is the original German title. I don't read German, so got the English translation by Tim Mohr entitled Why We Took The Car. When I got the book I was surprised that it was labeled as a "young adult" title. I am an "old adult," but I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful yarn of two curious young boys racing around Germany in a hot car meeting odd and engaging characters. This is one funny road trip, and I read it quickly. Incidentally, I am planning a trip to Germany and this novel reinforces my decision not to rent a car and attempt the autobahn, but to depend on Germany's renowned train system. Thank you, Ambassador Wittig, for pointing me toward this sweet, offbeat and remarkable novel.

.
10 people found this helpful
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Anderson
4.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2017
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Good book, could have better ending though. No more review just need to hit minimum word requirement no no no
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Pamela L. Danner
5.0 out of 5 stars Adventures in Germany
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2018
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This book was recommended by the Ambassador of Germany. I was expecting a travel book or maybe a history book. But instead I read a delightful story of two boys traveling in a stolen car and meeting interesting characters. A quick read.
3 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars I got this book because I read somewhere that this ...
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2017
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I got this book because I read somewhere that this book somehow represented "Germany". Not sure that I believe it. The book was okay.
One person found this helpful
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James Moore
5.0 out of 5 stars A young adult book that this old adult really enjoyed
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2018
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I really enjoyed this book. A quick read about two adolescents that was very fascinating. I had read the the beginning of the book in the original German as a Kindle sample and knew i would like it.
One person found this helpful
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Karl E Stauss
4.0 out of 5 stars Coming of Age Adventure Story
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2015
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Interesting, fast paced adventure story of a young boy coming of age and learning to enjoy life. Not particularly deep characters or story lines though. A fun read for a teenage boy.
One person found this helpful
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Josh
5.0 out of 5 stars I love the book tbh
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2021
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It’s really interesting since the start
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Pop Bop
4.0 out of 5 stars Smart, Funny, Touching and Refreshing
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2014
There are a lot of books out there that are written to sound like they are being narrated by fourteen year olds. When the narrator is a boy the books are often funny stories of school daze pranks, or yearning puppy dog tales of first love, or sports themed. (I'm putting aside fantasy/adventure books or goony farces.) Many of those books are entertaining, and even in some ways instructive, and I'll be happy to keep reading them as long as ambitious and creative authors keep writing them.

But very few of the books can hit the rueful, acerbic, innocently world weary, and yet subtly optimistic tone that lies somewhere between funny/antic and dramatic/serious. This book does. Over and over again. Sure, it can be honestly and deeply funny and it can be amusing in a knowing and off hand way. And, it has its share of serious and dramatic moments. But mostly it hews to the middle ground between the two - showing heart, sadness, energy, melancholy, and all of the confused and conflicting feelings and emotions that can flash through a fourteener's mind. (It never "goes big", but that means it never feels phony or manipulative either.)

Our narrator, Mike, is a fourteen year old from a pretty dysfunctional family who has had an antic adventure that has more or less run him off the rails. That we start in a police station and that our hero/narrator is in custody, sets the right tone for the reflective monologue that is about to follow. Because the narrative is a monologue, sometimes feeling like it is addressed to us and sometimes feeling more like it is addressed by the speaker to himself, we get an intimate and quicksilver look into the mind of this kid. And he's smart and observant and funny and self-aware in the same measure that he is awkward, dense and oblivious. He is neither too smart and articulate to convince us as a character, nor so out of touch that we lose interest in him. He feels hyper-real and hyper-authentic, which seems to me to be the best you can expect in this kind of book. (You could probably say the same for the unrealistic but hyper-real Germany Mike drives through.)

So, lots happens here, or is at least recounted, but in a way nothing immediate happens. Everything has already happened, and Mike is telling us about it. This is tricky stuff, but while some of it is a little authorly and showy, most of it engaging and thought provoking. That's fine by me, and it leads me to feel that this could be a fine choice for a confident, ambitious young reader ready for a crisp and insightful, if somewhat bleak, hero.

Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Mr John N Rainsford
5.0 out of 5 stars Book is great. Totally recommend for 13-14 year old boys.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2023
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The book is a wonder. It gets even more intense as the story goes on. Added with lots of romance as well
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Bill Siegfried
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Road Story!
Reviewed in Germany on May 31, 2015
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As the narrator of this novel is a teenager, this novel was not written for grandfathers like me, but I enjoyed it all the same. I suppose I identified with the narrator as he is an outsider at school. That is why he goes on a wild road trip with a classmate and I was sorry it had to end as all such ventures must. It is a very funny book and I could not help laughing out load. Highly recommended!
5 people found this helpful
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Amber
4.0 out of 5 stars easy read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 16, 2021
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the first few pages were hanging by a thread, and the corners of the cover slightly bent but other than that, quality was decent and the story was nice and light hearted
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alexrppoh
5.0 out of 5 stars Einfach zu lesen und lebendig geschrieben
Reviewed in Germany on April 18, 2017
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Ich habe das Buch bereits schon in deutscher Sprache gelesen, und habe mich dann dazu entschlossen
es mir auf englisch zuzulegen. Ein wirklich sehr gutes Buch
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man in a bucket
5.0 out of 5 stars Why I wrote this review
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 10, 2014
Verified Purchase
I read this book expecting something like fear and loathing in las Vegas. What I got was something completely different. The book really takes you inside the main character and forces you to sympathise with him. The characters you meet along the way all have their distinct charms which make you want to know more about them even if some characters are more developed than others. You feel compelled to go all the way. The conclusion may not be satisfying but it is a good way to end the book. And what a book! If you miss out on this then you won't experience perhaps the best book to grace the kindle.
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