A Whole Life

A WHOLE LIFE

by Robert Seethaler

 

Nominations: Booker Finalist 2016, Dublin Finalist 2017

 

Date Read: April 16, 2023

 

In this quiet novella whose quietness and simplicity reminds me of Tinkers, a simple life is lived thoroughly and left replete. Although Andreas Eggers lives in a quiet, remote village, the remarkable events of the 20th century inevitably find their way to his doorstep, leaving their indelible impression.

 

In the early 1900s, Andreas is an orphan who is brought to a mountain village and is left with a farmer and his family. Andreas works like a horse and is beaten regularly, but manages to endure until he is 18 and can leave, limping from one particularly bad beating that will remain with him throughout his life. 

 

Andreas has learned the principle of hard work and no job is beneath him. He farms, helps construct a mountain tram, and years pass. He falls in love with Marie who is quickly taken from him in an avalanche. The war comes and he is pressed into service, miserable and enduring 8 years as a Russian prisoner until he can return to his remote mountain village.

 

This character-driven, rather than plot-driven, novella is simple, quiet and sparse. But the beauty lies in the descriptions of a simple life, honestly lived. I enjoyed the humility of Andreas’ story, however, I was trying to determine Seethaler’s point of view here. This stoic man is born, lives and struggles and then passes, just like we all must. What is it about Andreas that is deserving of our attention? That I am unable to answer or I am just a little obtuse.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Gentleman In Moscow

Image
A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2018, Goodreads Finalist 2016, Kirkus Finalist 2016   Date Read: February 24, 2017   From Kirkus Reviews:   “Sentenced to house arrest in Moscow's Metropol Hotel by a Bolshevik tribunal for writing a poem deemed to encourage revolt, Count Alexander Rostov nonetheless lives the fullest of lives, discovering the depths of his humanity.   Inside the elegant Metropol, located near the Kremlin and the Bolshoi, the Count slowly adjusts to circumstances as a "Former Person." He makes do with the attic room, to which he is banished after residing for years in a posh third-floor suite. A man of refined taste in wine, food, and literature, he strives to maintain a daily routine, exploring the nooks and crannies of the hotel, bonding with staff, accepting the advances of attractive women, and forming what proves to be a deeply meaningful relationship with a spirited young girl, Nina. "We are bound to find comfo
Read more

An Island

Image
AN ISLAND by Karen Jennings   Nomination: Booker Longlist 2021   Date Read: December 10, 2022   A short but mighty novel, An Island explores the concept of home, family, identity, the impact of political upheaval and the immigrant experience, when one’s suffering is so intense they move from one shitty country to the next. Samuel has finally found a peaceful home on an island somewhere off the coast of Africa. He was hired as a lighthouse keeper and after a tumultuous life, most of which was spent in prison as a political prisoner, he has carved out a life for himself on this island, enjoying a tranquil existence that basks in the quiet tasks of daily living.   Only after exploring Samuel’s life does the reader understand why such an isolated, spare and lonely existence satisfy him, with no desire to escape but only to grow deeper roots. His life witnessed the end of the British occupation, the installation of a brutal dictator and yet another dictator after the first was poisoned. Sam
Read more

The Changeling

Image
THE CHANGELING by Victor LaValle   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2019, LA Times Finalist 2017, PEN/Jean Stein Finalist 2018   Date Read: July 21, 2024   From Kirkus Reviews: “A  tragedy thrusts a mourning father into peculiar, otherworldly corners of New York City. When Apollo and Emma have their baby, Brian, it feels like both reward and challenge for the new dad. Apollo, the son of a single mother, had been scraping by as a bookseller who hunts estate and garage sales for rare first editions, so even the unusual circumstance of Brian's birth (in a stalled subway train) seems like a blessing, as does the way Apollo stumbles across a first edition of  To Kill a Mockingbird  (inscribed by Harper Lee to Truman Capote, no less) shortly after. But after some young-parent squabbles and inexplicable images on their smartphones foreshadow trouble, the story turns nightmarish: Apollo finds himself tied up and beaten by Emma, then forced to listen to the sounds of Brian’s murder. LaValle has
Read more