German Edition : Robert  Seethaler: Der Trafikant, Kein & Aber Pocket, 9783036959092, 11,- €   English Edition: Robert  Seethaler: The Tobacconist, Pan Macmillan UK, 9781509806591, paperback

“Der Trafikant” (or “The Tobacconist” in the English edition) is one of the best books I have read in German in a long time, it really captured my heart.  When I was in the UK a few weeks ago, I was really happy to find this wonderful novel translated and displayed prominently in all London bookshops.   Seethaler’s way of storytelling flows with such lightheartedness that the seriousness of the story sometimes backdrops.   Seethaler has been compared to another classic Austrian writer, Joseph Roth; his style of writing indeed reminding me of turn of the century literature. 

Austria 1937. 17 year old Franz Huchel is forced to leave his childhood home near idyllic Attersee for Vienna to start an apprenticeship as a tobacconist with an old friend of his mother. Otto Trsnjek is a one legged monosyllabical  WW I war veteran who introduces the innocent young Franz to all the fine details a tobacconist needs to master to serve his neighborhood customers correctly.  

The first wave of Nazi politics overshadows their otherwise simple life and soon Franz becomes friends with their most prominent regular customer, Sigmund Freund. When Franz falls head over heels in love with Anezka, he confesses his confusion about matters of the heart to the professor hoping his only friend might be able to cure his lovesickness.  Anezka’s disappearance, his search for her and Otto’s outspokenness against Nazis soon change Franz’s life dramatically. Franz’s innocence is sometimes heartbreaking, yet his naivety lends him the courage most people would never master. 

This is as much a story about losing your innocence as it is a reminder how very quickly one’s life can be changed fundamentally by political developments.  Something we would do well to remember when casting our votes at the voting offices these days with democracy being threatened in many countries, countless refugees streaming into Europe being a testament.  Go buy this gem of a novel and enjoy !