A slice-of-life portrait of a community suffering the after-effects of the second world warAustrian novelist Robert Seethaler is known for his restrained and sensitive novels that illuminate the struggles and joys of peripheral lives. His debut, A Whole Life, centres on a man who barely leaves his mountain home. The Tobacconist is a coming-of-age novel set against the rise of fascism in Vienna. The Field introduces a chorus of the dead who tell the story of their village.Like The Field, The Café With No Name uses a narrow lens to tell the story of a whole community. At the centre is 31-year-old Robert Simon, an itinerant worker who assists the stall holders of the Karmelitermarkt in Vienna. In the late summer of 1966, Simon notices that the cafe on the corner of the market has closed. He decides to take on the lease in order “to do something which would give his life a positive affirmation. To one day stand behind the bar of his own establishment.” Continue reading...
Summary: "The Café With No Name" by Robert Seethaler Review
Robert Seethaler's novel "The Café With No Name" is set in postwar Vienna in 1966, focusing on Robert Simon, a 31-year-old itinerant worker who takes over a modest, semi-derelict café near the Karmelitermarkt. The café becomes a gathering place for the market's stallholders and other marginalized individuals, including Mila, a barmaid; Mischa, an artist; Mad Jascha, who tends to a dead pigeon; and Harald Blaha, a gasworks worker. The novel explores their lives with sensitivity and compassion, capturing their struggles and resilience. Seethaler's writing style is understated and pensive, with a focus on character development and universal themes rather than specific historical details. While some readers may find the narrative slow or abstract, the novel offers a poignant portrayal of human connection and the passage of time.
