A Whole Life

A Whole Life

Written by: Seethaler, Robert
Translated by: Collins, Charlotte

Shortlisted for The 2017 National Translation Award

Shortlisted for The 2017 International Dublin Literary Award

Shortlisted for The 2016 Man Booker International Prize

Andreas lives his whole life in the Austrian Alps, where he arrives as a young boy taken in by a farming family. He is a man of very few words and so, when he falls in love with Marie, he doesn't ask for her hand in marriage, but instead has some of his friends light her name at dusk across the mountain. When Marie dies in an avalanche, pregnant with their first child, Andreas' heart is broken. He leaves his valley just once more, to fight in WWII — where he is taken prisoner in the Caucasus — and returns to find that modernity has reached his remote haven…

Like John Williams' Stoner or Denis Johnson's Train Dreams, A Whole Life is a tender book about finding dignity and beauty in solitude. An exquisite novel about a simple life, it has already demonstrated its power to move thousands of readers with a message of solace and truth. It looks at the moments, big and small, that make us what we are.

Shortlisted for The 2017 National Translation Award

Shortlisted for The 2017 International Dublin Literary Award

Shortlisted for The 2016 Man Booker International Prize

Andreas lives his whole life in the Austrian Alps, where he arrives as a young boy taken in by a farming family. He is a man of very few words and so, when he falls in love with Marie, he doesn't ask for her hand in marriage, but instead has some of his friends light her name at dusk across the mountain. When Marie dies in an avalanche, pregnant with their first child, Andreas' heart is broken. He leaves his valley just once more, to fight in WWII — where he is taken prisoner in the Caucasus — and returns to find that modernity has reached his remote haven…

Like John Williams' Stoner or Denis Johnson's Train Dreams, A Whole Life is a tender book about finding dignity and beauty in solitude. An exquisite novel about a simple life, it has already demonstrated its power to move thousands of readers with a message of solace and truth. It looks at the moments, big and small, that make us what we are.

Published By House of Anansi Press Inc — Oct 3, 2015
Specifications 160 pages | 5.5 in x 8.5 in
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Written By

ROBERT SEETHALER was born in Austria and now divides his time between Vienna and Berlin. He is the author of four novels, including The Tobacconist, which has sold more than one million copies in Germany, and A Whole Life, a finalist for the International Booker Prize. He also works as a screenwriter and an actor, most recently in Paolo Sorrentino’s Youth.

Written By

ROBERT SEETHALER was born in Austria and now divides his time between Vienna and Berlin. He is the author of four novels, including The Tobacconist, which has sold more than one million copies in Germany, and A Whole Life, a finalist for the International Booker Prize. He also works as a screenwriter and an actor, most recently in Paolo Sorrentino’s Youth.

Short-listed, The Man Booker International Prize, 2016

Winner, Anton-Wildgans Prize, 2017

Short-listed, National Translation Award, 2017

“Every nuance, every word, every sentence — everything is precisely in place. An admirable achievement for such a slim volume.” —Die Welt

“[Seethaler has] succeeded in crafting a book which has to be described as more poignant and harrowing than anything written in a very long time.” —taz

“A magnificent author who moves us so profoundly with an unforgettable book.” —Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

“Do yourself a favour and read this book. It is food for the soul — so quiet,so subtle, yet with resounding reverberations.” —WDR

“The delicate, elegant song of a fulfilled life . . . Full of wonder.” —Literarische Welt

“Robert Seethaler's quietly mesmerizing novel - elemental in both tone and subject - shows what joy and nobility can be found in a life of hardship, patience and bereavement. It is at once heart-rending and heart-warming. A Whole Life, for all its gentleness, is a very powerful book.” —Jim Crace

“It's refreshing to read a story marked by quiet, concentrated attention . . . a reaction to all around us that is prolix, narcissistic and mindlessly technology-worshipping. What is perhaps most remarkable about this remarkable novel is the way that it continually weaves past, present and future into a single fabric. A deeply moving book” —Sunday Times 

“Seethaler shows that for even the most ordinary people, life is an extraordinary adventure — and he does so tenderly and memorably.” —Mail on Sunday