The Tobacconist Paperback – September 9, 2017

Unlike any Bildungsroman I’ve ever read. A modern classic. From light to dark then darker to a glimmer of hope.

I generally ignore bestsellers, but THE TOBACCONIST is an "international" bestseller, and Robert Seethaler has made quite a splash as a writer to watch. This book was published in German several years ago, and the English translation is about four years old now. I've read the Canadian edition.It's a little book, barely 200 pages, but it has both sweetness and depth, a rare combination. The sweetness is in young Austrian bumpkin Franz's coming of age, as he is tormented by his first 'love' and sexual awakening, under the able tutelage of Anezka, a voluptuous Bohemian tart with an endearing space between her teeth. (I thought of a very young Jim Harrison and his enduring crush on model-actress Lauren Hutton.) The depth lies in its setting, 1937'-38 Vienna, as the Nazis and the Gestapo begin to move in and establish themselves without a single shot fired. That and Franz's unlikely friendship with the aged Dr Sigmund Freud, who attempts to counsel the boy about women and love."I suspect that when we talk about your love, what we really mean is your libido ... This is the force that drives people after a certain age. It causes as much joy as it does pain, and to put it in simple terms, with men, it is located in their trousers."Bingo! Franz gets this much. But at the same time, Freud also opines on current affairs, not so easy to understand."Current world events are nothing but a tumour, an ulcer, a suppurating, stinking bubo that will soon burst and spill its disgusting contents over the whole of western civilization."Of course he is referring to the fascism, hate and wave of anti-Semitism that was beginning to consume Europe, but it also seems pretty relevant to today's situation, no? Funny how really good books are always relevant. That relevance carries over in Seethaler's depiction of the "Brown shirts" with swastika armbands who begin to fill the town -"They also had a strange light in their eyes. The light was sort of optimistic or hopeful or inspired, but essentially also dim-witted ..."As events unfold, the story becomes much darker. The shop front is defaced with pig's blood, and Franz's crippled boss is beaten and arrested by the Gestapo for selling to Jews, leaving Franz, formerly the apprentice, now the tobacconist. Dr Freud, under surveillance himself, is unable to help Franz, who is forced to do some growing up fast, and fashions his own form of revenge.Franz's maturation over the course of this hard year is further reflected in the correspondence between him and his widowed mother, cards and Ietters at first simple and comical, and then increasingly complex and moving, as the eighteen year-old tried to make sense of it all.History is made personal here. The phrase "what goes around comes around" kept cropping up in my mind as I read of Franz and Dr Freud. It's that inescapable relevance to today's headlines. And the writing here is simply beautiful, by the way. Seethaler deserves his success. Very highly recommended.- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER

The book was stained and rumpled, which did not, in my opinion, classify it as in "good" shape.

A beautiful description of a person living around 1940 in Austria full of turmoil. A book with intense emotions described in a superb way. FO

_The Tobacconist_ was part of a list of books ambassadors from various nations recommended reading before visiting their country. (The website with the list of books is easily accessible by any search if you're interested.) It was a tragic - although not wholly surprising - read. Set in Vienna just prior to the Anschluss (Nazi annexation of Austria), it is the tale of a young country boy who moves to the big city, finding work at a Tobacconist's shop, and befriending an ailing Sigmund Freud.The details of the city - its culture, its politics (like the south of Germany, Austria and especially Vienna, is very conservative), and the rhythm of life is vividly shown. The role of a tobacconist - and a newspaper kiosk - as a metaphor for the urbane, sophisticated life of Vienna was apt, its incompatibility with the intolerance and brutality of the time made for a tragic conclusion, although one that was neither suprising nor out of character for the city. Absolutely a spot-on recommendation by the ambassador.

Author was able to hold my attention to the very end. Very creative word smith. I throughly enjoyed the book.

VERY GOOD WELL WIRTH READING

The storyline is very scattered with several pages that appear to be only filler. There is no reason for some of the pages. They are simply to lengthen the book.