Caught by the cover illustration, A Whole Life is a subtle book that draws you in and leaves a lasting impression. We follow Andreas Egger through his youth, reminiscing about a difficult childhood, on through the war, and into old age. Seethaler has managed to poetically capture the struggles and inner life of a simple man in a compassionate way.
Andreas lives high in the Austrian Alps, a man of the mountain. We meet him in winter 1933, carrying a dying goatherd down from the hillside into the village, evading the 'Cold Lady' who circles, wanting to steal his soul from life.
Arriving as a child to the village in 1902, he was taken in by a farming couple and their children, he stays just that, an outsider never welcomed. At best an extra hand, neglected and beaten, he reaches an age where he can leave and create a place of his own, a rock shelter carved into the mountainside. By chance he meets a youthful beauty in the local inn. Not used to kindness (being taunted by children for his gammy leg), the simple act of tenderness when she places her hand on his arm resonates, and soon they are married. Electricity arrives in the village with the building of a cable car, with 1300 meters to overcome and gorges to be bridged, Andreas is well suited to work the altitude and dangerous terrain. There are struggles - an avalanche destroying the house, and the outbreak of war (in which Andreas with his mountaineering skill is sent to the Caucasas, then spends eight years in a Russian P.O.W. camp). The village had almost tripled with new ski slopes and cable cars, there is a lack of work when he returns. The mayor is no longer a Nazi, geraniums colour the streets instead of swastikas. He saw a television, and years later, a man walk on the moon. Andreas continues to find his own way, makes his own money, content with guiding tourists up the mountain, until the day when the 'Cold Lady' will come to welcome him in.
This is a subtle work, and simple like Andreas, but very memorable. Recommended as a quality story well presented. At 160 pages, it can be read quickly, but is so packed with story you will want to take your time.
A Whole Life was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize in 2017.
The German film of A Whole Life premiered in 2023.
Robert Seethaler is an Austrian living in Berlin, and his other novel The Tobacconist was a German bestseller and Man Booker International Prize finalist.
2014 / Tradeback / 160 pages
Comments