Welcome to Litsy!

Franzl,a young man from Salzkammergut,leaves his home to become the apprentice of a tobacconist,one of his mother‘s ex lovers.In Vienna he falls in love with a woman who doesn‘t reciprocate his feelings,has conversations with Freud&witnesses how the city changes under Nazi rule which he opposes but can‘t fight.I love how Seethaler writes about the “little” people with warmth,depth&humor without romanticizing working class life or Nazi opposition.

I loved seeing this moment and place in history through the eyes of a young boy - coming of age at the brink of war. It‘s quirky and witty, with profound thoughts hidden behind seemingly simple sentences. It‘s written as one long prose - no chapter breaks and I felt it didn‘t let me breathe, but maybe that adds rather than detracts from the story….

Going to fit a one or two more in before I switch to the holiday themed book pile I‘ve been making throughout the year!

I didn't like the style...

Historical fiction set in 1937/38 Vienna.

Oh my this was good. So good. Heartbreaking and funny and important. Follows 17 year old Franz as he moves to Vienna during the late 1930s and the start of Hitler's reign. A must-read for these times. I think, anyway.

Gorgeous cover, gorgeous book! A coming of age tale of a naive young man moving to a city to be apprenticed, in the midst of the rise of Hitler and the Nazis. Beautifully written and very haunting, but surprisingly uplifting too.

Thanks so much @Cathythoughts for sending it to me!

What an ace cover. I think it'd make a good Christmas card :)
A slim novel, set on the lead up to WW2 in Austria. I've read another by this author and realky appreciated the way in which he describes the natural environment.

For writing that seemed so straightforward, this book had some amazing layers to it. Seethaler does an excellent job of making his characters - especially Franz and his mother - feel like real people. I‘d love to read more by him. Thanks @CouronneDhiver

Excited to be starting this one! @CouronneDhiver Thank you again! ❤️

This glorious #TBR has all been gifted to me by generous Littens. Realistically I can read maybe two in September. But which two? Please vote and help me #lightenmylittenload

I'm back. After a good night sleep and all caught up on Litsy posts, I'm ready to continue #24in48.
I won't hit 24 hours, but at least I'll get some serious reading done.

Ready to start book 5 for #24in48

The result of 2 weekend library sales 📚📚📚

This book didn‘t grab me the way his other book, A Whole Life, did. Nevertheless, Seethaler‘s writing is so good that it has to be a pick. He also has a way of making the reader really know his characters intimately and care for them like a friend.

It‘s day three of This Workweek Has 11 Days and I‘m wiped. I am so grateful to my #theCanadiantour and #buddyread friend @CouronneDhiver for the surprise #bookmail - it really brightens up these rainy days. And check out those socks! 🎶🎶🎶 Thanks, Danielle 😘

The humour and wit in this, as in A Whole Life, is so enjoyable... When Franz meets Freud

50 pages into this but felt the need to rave about it! I don't know how he does it, but RS creates protagonists who I immediately fall in love with. First Andreas Egger in 'A Whole Life' and now Franz Huchel in this second novel I'm reading. Without a doubt, one of my new favourite authors; I can't stop gushing about him. Well... It is Valentines 😉 ♥

A young man strikes up an unlikely friendship with Sigmund Freud in Austria at the beginning of WWII. This is a quiet coming of age book that contrasts the usual personal problems of growing up with the larger political and social problems of bigotry and fascism. Although I was a bit skeptical of the inclusion of Freud in the story, the relationship between him and the young man, Frantz, worked well.

I could have posted nearly every page, the writing was that good! Perfect fit in my wheelhouse: dry wit, descriptive, spare, unsentimental, big & small questions, ambivalent characters, a small glimpse of an era & character's life...... I was pleasantly surprised at the wry humor, quite funny even though it's not a light happy story. Lots of nuggets and enough depth to make it worthy of a reread someday. Thanks @shawnmooney for the rec!

Amazing writing immediately on page 1! Describing a 17 year old riding out a storm under the covers in his mother's hut.

It was very interesting, enjoyable read. The main character is a young man who accidentally became Sigmund Freud's friend. It set in 1937 in Vienna when fascists just occupied the city. The writing is implacable! There are humor, and wit, serious thoughts and different writing styles in one short book ❤️

😂🤣 Enjoyed your mention of this on booktube Shawn! Cracked me up.

"Today's reasons are yesterday's tomorrow, and by the day after tomorrow, if not before, there're forgotten"

I am so enjoying this book. Anansi International is a new publisher for me to watch out for.

Book mail! Can't wait to start this one! I really enjoyed A Whole Life. Many thanks to

When you‘re watching @shawnmooney on BookTube, your Google searches become much more interesting! 😆

This episode is great, Shawn. I love your authenticity, but you do seem to have pretty crappy luck with birds... 🐦🦅

https://youtu.be/20Ed0Ho4Ero

These are my 5-star predictions! Thank you so much for tagging me @vivastory & @ForeverNerdy ! If you haven‘t been tagged and you‘ve got your own predictions, consider yourself tagged by me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #fivestarpredictions

Came home yesterday evening to these beauties in the mail. The very best mail is #bookmail . #bookhaul

Just finished reading this absolute gem! Set at the advent of the Second World War, Franzl leaves behind his provincial lake-side Austrian life for the bustle of mid-century Vienna. I found it wistfully romantic and completely charming; will definitely be coming back to Robert Seethaler again!

A moving tale about a wide-eyed 17-year-old country lad with a great ass (you really need to read this book now, don't you?) who finds himself plunked down in Venice in the darkening months and weeks before Hitler overruns the country. It's not the masterpiece that A Whole Life is, and I myself could have done without Freud being a character, but no matter: I absolutely loved this novel.

I added a spoiler tag at first, solely to give you the choice whether or not you'd like to read a wonderful passage from this novel that involves a dead rat. :-) But then I realized that you couldn't see my comment without taking the spoiler tag off, so it defeated the purpose.