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Here are our choices for our June #PersephoneClub group read.

The Exiles Return: 5 people return to Vienna 10 years post-WWII to see if/how they can pick up their lives interrupted by war. Written by the author of Milton Place which we read together.

Doreen: story about and in the voice of a young British girl evacuated to the countryside after the Blitz. Book listing tagged in comments.

All of the loss and misery caused by Hitler was writ large in the life of Zweig. Once one of the most prominent authors in Europe, a truly joyful man, Zweig was ultimately defeated by book banning and exile and genocide. This is a harrowing tale of the toll of war on a gentle heart. It won‘t tell you much that you don‘t already know, but it is another thing entirely to see this history through the eyes of a witness who is also a gifted writer.

Bangalow op shop. Done over during a break in the Byron Writer‘s Festival. I love me some cheap vintage! Then I put it all in the air bnb washing machine and part way through the cycle it stopped working! When the owner returned from her time away, she helped me figure out how to open it and then washed and dried the clothes for me. Grand total $29. Much cheaper than when I was there last year. No prices on anything.

My third stop was #Vienna, a beautiful city, where I visited lots of fantastic museums and palaces. Inspired by Schloss Schönbrunn, I also read this massive biography about Kaiserin Sisi. I highly recommend it.

#austria #travel

A jewel-box of delights, and a coming together. Afterall, that's the function of Netsuke, to bring things together.

Zweig‘s memoir is a wonderfully intimate account of life before and during the world wars. His viewpoint as an artist and writer during that time gave me a new perspective. His stories will stay with me. His vivid descriptions took me there with him. Recommend for those interested in this time period.

This volume published by Taschen is a stunning volume of the gorgeous artwork of Gustav Klimt.

This is a scary read. It's about Hitler beginning to move on Europe and Austria specifically. It was far too close to current events, in the way Hitler and his cronies acted, for comfort.

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This is a collection of essays that reads essentially as a memoir, wherein Zweig details his life as a writer in Vienna and traveling abroad and his meetings and reflections on other artists and their work whom he had struck up friendships with (many it seems). But the real allure of this book for me was to read a first-hand account of culture, politics and daily life in Belle époque Europe, during WWI, the inter-war period and the start of WW2.