Summary of A Whole LifeÂ
Andreas is a man of few words who leads a quiet and modest life in the Austrian Alps with his beloved wife, Marie. However, his life is upended first by a devastating avalanche in the village, and later by the outbreak of the Second World War, when he is sent to fight in the Caucasus. Eight years later, when he returns to his home, he finds that modernity and tourism have encroached upon his once-isolated mountain village.
Reasons to read A Whole Life
“A Whole Life” is a gentle and heartwarming novel about a man’s simple life in the Austrian mountains. It explores how people respond to change and how progress affects traditional ways of life. The novel was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize in 2016 and for the International Dublin Literary Award in 2017. In 2022, it was adapted into a German-language film, also titled “Ein ganzes Leben”. Robert Seethaler is an acclaimed Austrian author, best known for his novels “A Whole Life” and “The Tobacconist”.
Setting: the Alps (Austria)
Book set in the Austrian Alps (The novel does not specify an exact location. The 2022 film adaptation was primarily shot in Matrei in East Tyrol, a setting that closely mirrors the novel’s descriptions).
Original title: Ein ganzes Leben
Year of publication: 2014
Nr of pages: 160
