Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
A Whole Life
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
49 posts | 47 read | 30 to read
'Heart-rending and heart-warming . . . for all its gentleness, a very powerful novel.' Jim Crace 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 by Robert Seethaler 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. Translated by Charlotte Collins.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
Kazzie
Ein ganzes Leben | Robert Seethaler
Pickpick

Not how I expected. Soft graceful story of one man‘s simple life, with historical markers of the 20 century.

review
Jeg
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

A delight. Small book, a quick read. Great translation. Short listed for Booker in 2015. Not sure how I acquired it. Just sitting on my TBR shelf.

Tamra Loved this one! 2y
Suet624 I went to stack it and found I already had! 2y
12 likes2 comments
review
losmith
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
Pickpick

7/10

review
Anna40
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

A whole lot happens in the story of Egger's whole life but it is told in a quiet, calm and poetic way. Horrible things happen to Egger but he carries on and so does the reader. He is 4 when he arrives at the small mountain village in Austria in the early 1900s where he will spend most of his life alone. Solitude, nature, resilience are themes in this beautiful book. Highly recommend it.

review
mirnas
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

This extraordinary novel in only about 100 pages tells Andreas Egger's life story from his childhood until the day he days in the Austrian Alps.

20 likes2 stack adds
review
yourfavouritemixtape
Ein ganzes Leben | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

Bookclub meeting with burgers.

blurb
Ottergirl
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

1.on a February morning in the year 1933 Andreas Egger lifted the dying goatherd Johannes Kalischka, known to all the valley dwellers as Horned Hanes, off his sodden and rather sour-smelling pallet to carry him down to the village along the three kilometre mountain path that lay buried beneath a thick layer of snow. (Phew!)
2. 149 3. Intuition 4. See the first sentence 5. Green 11. 2015

Kaye Wow, that is one long first sentence ! 7y
Ottergirl It‘s a whole paragraph! 7y
15 likes2 comments
blurb
Ottergirl
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

This is for the next meeting of my book club. Only a short read so should be nice and quick ⏰

blurb
rachaich
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

About to start this one.
Thank you @wormkim :)

wormkim Perfect weather for it. Its beautiful xxx 7y
13 likes2 stack adds1 comment
review
LondElle89
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

This short story was such a wonderful read. The story of Andreas Egger is very much like his character; simple, hard-working, and (at times) very lonely. It's beautifully and simply written covering Egger's life in the mountains of Austria. I really enjoyed this.

9 likes1 stack add
blurb
BekahPat
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

A story of man‘s relationship with ancient landscape, of the value of solitude, of the arrival of the modern world, and above all, of the moments, great and small, that make us who we are. #booksintranslation
This picture does not even do the cover justice. So beautiful.

Tamra I really enjoyed it too! Try also 7y
BekahPat @Tamra Thank you for the recommendation. I absolutely will check that one out. 7y
Tamra @BekahPat have you read 7y
26 likes3 comments
review
wormkim
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

My goodness. It's been a long while since a book has made me weep like this ('A Little Life' and 'Stoner' being the last). It's a short tale about Andreas Egger and his life in the mountains. I wanted to share my favourite quotes from it but there were just too many. Beautifully translated, I wanted to read it all over again before I'd even finished it. I'll remember AE forever. Gorgeous artwork too.

wormkim P.s it was only when I was having a little play with this picture that I spotted the image of the man in the bottom left hand corner. Egger finally revealing himself, I think 😉 7y
5 likes1 comment
quote
wormkim
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

8 pages in and I'm enchanted by this already

blurb
Buechersuechtling
Ein ganzes Leben | Robert Seethaler

@Saari84 Kannst du dazu was sagen❓

https://www.hanser-literaturverlage.de/buch/ein-ganzes-leben/978-3-446-24645-4/

Ich bin zwiegespalten (und habe es deswegen [noch] nicht entliehen), denn es weckt in mir die Erwartung einer Mischung aus „Die Frau des Zeitreisenden“ und „Die Bücherdiebin“.

Irgendwie wie ist mir gerade nicht so nach Liebesgeschichte mit herzzerreißender Sterbebettszene. Oder vertue ich mich da komplett❓
Weißt du was❓

Saari84 Also das Buch wird niemals an die Bücherdiebin heran kommen 😅 für mich ist es der bisher schlechteste Seethaler und ich konnte den Hype darum im Nachhinein nicht ganz nachvollziehen...es ist ein nettes Buch, ohne mich groß berührt zu haben, wie es andere Werke von Seethaler geschafft haben. Ich bin gespannt, wie du es finden wirst! 7y
Buechersuechtling @Saari84 Okay, ich behalte es im Hinterkopf. Ausleihen werde ich es aber erst, wenn ich meinen SuB kleiner gelesen hab. *hust* 😅 7y
2 likes4 comments
blurb
Buechersuechtling
Ein ganzes Leben | Robert Seethaler

@Saari84 Du liest viele interessante Bücher. Mit Robert Seethaler hattest du mich gleich. Ich hatte weder vom Autor selbst noch von einem seiner Bücher vorher etwas gehört.

Aber „Die Biene ? und der Kurt ?‍♂️“ – allein wegen des Titels wollte ich es mir ansehen. ?

Meine Onleihe hat von ihm jedoch nur das hier.

1 like1 comment
quote
Simona
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

A whole life of a one man who lives in mountains - in solitude and silence.

#quotsynov17 #chaos

Cinfhen 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 7y
shawnmooney Great quote from a great book! 😍😘 7y
Jinjer #goals Mountain. Solitude. Silence. Stacked. 7y
Simona @shawnmooney I didn‘t like it at first, but more I think about it, more I like it ... 7y
77 likes3 stack adds5 comments
review
Libby1
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

A little masterpiece.

(Details from the book's cover.)

Tamra I agree! I also recommend 7y
Libby1 Thanks, @Tamra ! 🌼 7y
shawnmooney Yes! I read another of his (I think it was a later novel) which, while not a masterpiece, was still really good! 7y
See All 9 Comments
Libby1 I've seen that one, @shawnmooney . I'm going to keep on the lookout for it. Thanks for the recommendation! 7y
Tamra @shawnmooney yes, I am awaiting my order from Book Depository of that one thanks to you. Your are good/bad for my TBR! 7y
Libby1 @Tamra and @shawnmooney - we're all enablers! 7y
Tamra @Libby1 so true! 😁 7y
shawnmooney @Tamra Don't hate me because I'm beau------um.....don't hate me because my book recs are bountiful! 😂😂 7y
Tamra @shawnmooney bahahahaha 7y
49 likes9 comments
blurb
Libby1
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

Picked this one up at the library yesterday.

Has anyone read it?

Look at the gorgeous details on the cover.

Moray_Reads Lovely crystal clear writing. Not a wasted word. I really liked it 7y
Tamra Yes, it's wonderful. Agree with @Moray_Reads . 7y
Tamra In fact, I just ordered 7y
See All 6 Comments
Libby1 I'm glad you liked it, @Moray_Reads and @Tamra . I'm glad I picked it up. 7y
andrew61 An excellent read. 7y
Libby1 Thanks, @andrew61 . Looking forward to it! 7y
39 likes1 stack add6 comments
blurb
Paty1
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

This cover

2 likes1 stack add
review
slhbooks
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

An absolutely wonderful novel about a quiet, hard-working man living a simple life in the mountains of Austria. I loved it from start to finish. Beautifully written. Reminded me a bit of Kent Haruf's novels which I love love love.

Almost forgot... #catsoflitsy ...Teddy🐾 Ok, off to work! Everybody have a lovely day🙋👩🏻‍🌾

Laura317 @slhbooks This sounds right up my alley. I like quiet books - A Gentleman in Moscow was that for me. 7y
slhbooks @Laura317 I have A Gentleman in Moscow in my 'TBR sooner' pile rather than my 'TBR later' pile. I'm looking forward to it! 7y
Libby1 Aaaahhhh! I thought I'd love it and then you went and compared it with Haruf!!! I know I'll love it now. ❤️❤️❤️ 7y
39 likes4 stack adds3 comments
blurb
Lindy
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

Spent the day at Mont Blanc in France yesterday. No #bookinthewild, except in my head: the setting brought Robert Seethaler's wonderful novel to mind, especially the part about building cable lifts to transport people up steep slopes. Temperature at Chamonix: 28C. At the top: 0C. #riotgram from a glorious sunny day.

batsy Lovely pic! That view. 7y
Bambolina_81 Wow! 7y
shawnmooney Wow - that is awesome! You are awesome! (The only thing I'm squeamish about is climbing mountains! 😂) 7y
See All 14 Comments
Lindy @batsy @Bambolina_81 @shawnmooney This photo was at 3842m. I got there the easy way: in a télécabine. 7y
Simona Must be breathtaking beautiful❣️ 7y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful 😊 7y
TrishB Gorgeous 💟 7y
saresmoore This is almost unbelievable! What a striking panorama—even this square snippet is gorgeous. 7y
christineandbooks Gorgeous! 7y
Lindy @Simona @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @TrishB @saresmoore The view is panoramic, with Italy, Switzerland and France in the background, depending on which way you're facing. (France is behind me above.) 7y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Wow! I can't even imagine 😮 7y
Simona Our highest mountain (and national treasure) is 2863 m high, and there is no easy way to get there. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triglav 7y
LeahBergen Beautiful! 7y
Hobbinol Heavenly!!! 😇😇😇 7y
65 likes14 comments
review
Tamra
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

"Then he would think about his future, which extended infinitely before him, precisely because he expected nothing of it."

One of those rare gems of a novel. Each word having its place, not an excess or deficit.

Aleida Looks and sounds like a beautiful book. 7y
slhbooks Just finished this one! Loved it💙 7y
Tamra @slhbooks 👍🏾 I really enjoyed it. It imparts a feeling that stays with you. 7y
27 likes1 stack add3 comments
blurb
Tamra
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

Beautiful, lots of tabbing going here. 📎

shawnmooney This was an exquisite novel! I also really enjoyed his 7y
Tamra TBRd! 7y
13 likes2 comments
blurb
Tamra
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

Happy Mother's Day to me #2! 😽 Thank you Shona for the head's up on Ibrahim & Seethaler.

My_novel_obsession 🤗🤗🤗 7y
Tamra Have you started yet? 7y
My_novel_obsession @Tamra I haven't started either one of them yet. I was debating on whether to take one of them with me tomorrow when I leave for a work trip for a week but I think I'm going to pack something lighter 7y
Tamra @Anovelobsession that's understandable. 7y
12 likes4 comments
blurb
My_novel_obsession
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

These two ended up in my basket as I was shopping for my secret santa...it was literally impossible not to leave with a book or two for me 😳

Tamra Oh my, those are beautiful covers; I haven't even read the synopses and I'm intrigued. Good for you buying extra! 7y
Tamra A Whole Life is likened to Stoner & Train Dreams. 👏🏾 I can't resist! I have Train Dreams cued on Audio. (edited) 7y
Tamra Ok, now I'm getting both. I also have a penchant for African novels. 😁 7y
See All 6 Comments
My_novel_obsession @Tamra The bookseller told me that if I liked Stoner or Train Dreams I would like A Whole Life. I loved Stoner but had never even heard of Train Dreams so that's one I will have to look up! 7y
Tamra @Anovelobsession I just cued up Train Dreams today on audio from the library. Synchronicity! 7y
LeahBergen I've been wanting to read A Whole Life, too! 👍🏼 7y
46 likes1 stack add6 comments
review
Redwritinghood
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

This is a lovely little book that follows the life of a man that definitely got the short end of the stick. Nevertheless, he manages to live fully through moments of joy and sorrow. This book, like its protagonist, moves quietly while paying close attention to what makes an ordinary life worth living.

Lindy I like your review. When I finished this book, I spent a long time pondering the author's purpose. I thought about how our lives are important, no matter who we are or where we live, even though they are such brief things against the mass of history and humanity. (edited) 8y
Cinfhen I like both of your reviews @Lindy and @Redwritinghood - sounds like a lovely read although a bit sad 😔 8y
Lindy @Cinfhen It's been a year since I read it, but I don't remember that it was particularly sad. He lives a very long life through all the changes of the 20th century, even though his village is remote and therefore not greatly affected. It's quiet, as @Redwritinghood says. 8y
See All 7 Comments
Redwritinghood @Cinfhen @Lindy Thanks. The book is a bit sad, but also, strangely, not sad. So much packed into a mere 151 pages. 8y
Cinfhen I'm ready to give it a try, thanks for the feedback @Redwritinghood @Lindy 8y
shawnmooney Great review! As you may have noticed, I read another of his novels this month that I loved almost as much as this one: (edited) 8y
Redwritinghood @shawnmooney Thanks! I'll have to check that one out too. 8y
51 likes1 stack add7 comments
quote
Redwritinghood
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

I'm really enjoying this short, lovely book.

41 likes1 stack add
blurb
Redwritinghood
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

#libraryhaul Picked up a few more books when I was at the library (of course). The bottom 4 are all selections for #nonfictionchallenge17

Megabooks Yay! I'm reading The Gene now. I bailed on Sapiens, but I plan to go back. 8y
61 likes1 comment
review
shawnmooney
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

From humble beginnings as an abused orphan, Egger spends most of his life in the same German mountain valley, shaping and being shaped by it. Seethaler somehow makes the odd, the dramatic, and the banal bits of narrative resound with the force of images within a poem, of shouts up a mountain incomplete without their responding echoes. All this within 150 pages. If you loved Williams's Stoner, this is another book to fall into.

AceOnRoam Stoner is on my list to read this year. 8y
37 likes3 stack adds1 comment
quote
shawnmooney
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

quote
shawnmooney
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

29 likes1 stack add
quote
shawnmooney
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

quote
shawnmooney
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

quote
shawnmooney
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

22 likes1 stack add
quote
shawnmooney
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

Angelala007 Well that's festive, bro. 😘 8y
shawnmooney @Angelala007 Happy holidays indeed! 8y
shawnmooney @Lindy You've already read it? I didn't see it in your Goodreads. Anyway, halfway through I am blown away by it! 8y
Lindy Like you, this was a holiday read for me. I read it when I went to NYC in April. I might have forgotten to add it to goodreads. It's a book that made me think a lot about what the author wanted to say. 8y
shawnmooney @Lindy With the amount you read, I am not surprised one or two slip through the database cracks :) 8y
23 likes1 stack add5 comments
quote
shawnmooney
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

16 likes1 stack add
quote
shawnmooney
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

quote
shawnmooney
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

46 pages into this short little novel, I can say that all the rave reviews might just have been understated...

Ais It is STUNNING 8y
28 likes2 stack adds1 comment
quote
Moray_Reads
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

31 likes1 stack add
quote
Ais
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler

That was absolutely beautiful. A very quick and short read, and not one word is wasted, but there is plenty of emotion contained in the simple prose. Absolutely stunning

20 likes1 stack add
quote
Ais
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

Reading this one for my book club. We're a year old this month:)

Books_Wine_Repeat Congrats! 🎉 8y
Ais Thanks:) plenty of book chats, wine & fab people..there's worse ways to be spending time! 8y
29 likes2 comments
review
tscottbecker
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
Pickpick

Only 150 pages, and it needs not one word more. A wonderful contemplation on a life and the change one can witness in a lifetime. For those who know my usual areas I can promise those that don't like genre, that there are no swords, no magic, and only one (necessary) spaceship.

review
Mirandareads
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

A beautiful recollection of a whole life.

review
ThursdayN
Ein ganzes Leben | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

What a beautiful book! I totally understand why it was nominated to the Man Booker Int, a pity that it didn't win. It reminded me of Stoner by John Williams. 📖📖📖📖

blurb
ThursdayN
Ein ganzes Leben | Robert Seethaler
post image

Starting this one now. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker International (2016).

review
jennifercecile
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

A beautiful read that speaks so much to our disconnect from the small moments of our lives. In this depiction of one man's life in a small village there is everything- a microcosm of the world really. Shortlisted for the Booker International- read it!

3 likes2 stack adds
review
Farrcycle
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

Just finished this short, unputdownable book. Egger is quiet, often sad and lives a tragic whole life. Yet the thing is strangely uplifting. Also the descriptions of the Alps are beautiful.

1 like1 stack add
review
Simona
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image
Pickpick

Between like and so so. I liked it, because beauty of the story lies in its simplicity and overall atmosphere- solitude and silence, with poetic description of mountains and nature. So so- because of just interesting read, not special.

9 likes3 comments
blurb
Simona
A Whole Life | Robert Seethaler
post image

1st line and 4th book (for me) from The Man Booker International Prize.

9 likes1 comment