BOOKS FROM AUSTRIADarkenbloom
by Eva Menasse
Tags:
Set in Austria
Female author
Description:
A panoramic novel of European history, by an internationally bestselling writer. The whole truth, as the name implies, is the collective knowledge of all those involved. Which is why you can never really piece it together again afterwards. Because some of those who possessed a part of it will already be dead. Or they’re lying, or their memories are bad. It’s 1989, and in a small town on the Austria–Hungary border, nobody talks about the war; the older residents pretend not to remember, and the younger ones are too busy making plans to leave. The walls are thin, the curtains twitch, there is a face at every window, and everyone knows what they are not supposed to say. But as thousands of East German refugees mass at the border, it seems that the past is knocking on Darkenbloom’s door. Still, though, nobody talks about the war. Until a mysterious visitor shows up asking questions. Until townspeople start receiving threatening letters and even disappearing. Until a body is found. Darkenbloom is a sweeping novel of exiled counts, Nazis-turned-Soviet-enforcers, secret marriages, mislabelled graves, remembrance, guilt, and the devastating power of silence, by one of Austria’s most significant contemporary writers.
Reviews:
(5 months ago) |
28 Apr, 2025
Keep notes! There are lots of lovely little mysteries scattered throughout this engaging book. It’s not an easy read, but it is beautifully written and well worth it if you concentrate. I can’t wait to read it again!
|
Add comment
More books from Austria
More books from Read Around Europe Challenge