a whopper of a word!

Main Entry: bil·dungs·ro·man
Pronunciation: 'bil-du[ng](k)s-rO-"män, -du[ng]z-
Function: noun
Etymology: German, from Bildung education + Roman novel
: a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character

(http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/bildungsroman)

those crazy germans and their awesome words!