When the book started, I thought it would be very nice.
As you can imagine, most of them are full of unhappiness and regret. We listen to 29 people who speak to the reader from their graves. He became known primarily as a TV actor, but since 2006, has published novels which, in recent years, have made the nomination lists of prestigious international book awards.The Field tells the stories of the inhabitants of a cemetery in the town of Paulstadt. English translation: Charlotte Collins.īorn in Vienna in 1966, Robert Seethaler is a writer and actor who attended drama school in Vienna. Robert Seethaler: A Whole Life, Picador/Pan Macmillan, (German title: Ein ganzes Leben, 2014). He's a literary figure who addresses existential questions of human action and thought, but is also a lively, flesh and blood character that gets under the reader's skin and grows in their hearts. "It is wonderful to see a gentle, tender work devoid of sentimentality yet so evocative and moving being presented to an international readership," wrote the Irish Times in a review.Įgger romanticizes but never glorifies his homeland. "A Whole Life" was shortlist for the Man Booker International Prize in 2016 Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot As if beyond time, the book covers each decade with bold narrative steps that succeed in bringing the events and inner life of his protagonist into sharp focus. Spanning a century, Seethaler's novel is a little literary wonder. But he could look back without regret on the time in between, his life, with a full-throated laugh and utter amazement." He couldn't remember where he had come from, and ultimately he didn't know where he would go. " He had never felt compelled to believe in God, and he wasn't afraid of death. Returning to his homeland, he becomes a tour guide until postwar tourism becomes too much for him. Later during World War II, he becomes a soldier and is captured by the Russians, spending years as a prisoner of war in the vast expanses of the Caucasus.Īs a prisoner of war, Egger suffers "a whole life" of devastation. He also describes Egger's first work experience as a cable car mechanic. Weaving a taut yet expansive narrative, Seethaler describes how Egger suffered a beating as a child that left him with a permanent limp, but also with his resilience and ability to laugh at life while overcoming a forbidding and isolated childhood. He took on any kind of work and did it reliably and without grumbling." He was a good worker, didn't ask for much, barely spoke, and tolerated the heat of the sun in the fields as well as the biting cold in the forest. " Andreas Egger was considered a cripple, but he was strong. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
0 kommentar(er)
