House of Childhood
by Anna Mitgutsch
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"One of the most important novels of contemporary Austrian literature."--Neue Zürcher Zeitung Max Berman, a successful but rootless New York restoration architect, socialite, and ladies' man, remembers his childhood home in the small Austrian town of "H," mostly through his mother,'s cherished photographs and vivid stories. When she dies, still longing for the house she fled with her husband and young children in 1928, Max temporarily abandons his playboy lifestyle and travels to H, show more determined to reclaim the confiscated house. In H, Max encounters Nadja, a young woman convinced that her late mother was Jewish and that the local synagogue will provide the sense of community she lacks. Recognizing that she is too talented for her provincial neighbors, he arranges for her to attend college in the U.S., where she becomes the most significant of his many lovers. He also befriends Arthur Spitzer, a Holocaust survivor and the leader of H's dwindling Jewish community, who helps him regain legal control of his mother's house. When, years later, the last of his tenants finally moves out, Max returns to investigate his family's ties in H for a fateful year that challenges his restlessness and seems to offer the chance for real belonging. Acclaimed Austrian writer Anna Mitgutsch's novel is a powerful examination of the meaning of home--in a place, a community, a relationship--and the difficulty of finding one in our tumultuous world. show lessTags
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ThingScore 75
"Erinnerungsverlust bedeutet die Desintegration der Persönlichkeit," schreibt Anna Mitgutsch. Die Erinnerungen an das Haus der Kindheit sind lebensnotwendig, auch wenn sie nicht der Wirklichkeit entsprechen, sondern erdichtet und aufgeladen sind mit der Bedeutung, die der Erinnernde ihnen für sein Leben geben will. So entfaltet sich Anna Mitgutschs Sprache am wärmsten in der Beschreibung show more von Max Bermans innerer Welt, dem Haus der Kindheit, wie es ihn, ungedämpft durch die Realität, als beschworene Hoffnung durchs Leben getragen hat. Der Glanz der Bilder findet dann auch Eingang in die Erinnerung des Lesers, wie eine Wiederkennung und Sehnsucht nach Weite und Helligkeit. show less
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Author Information
14 Works 269 Members
Awards and Honors
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Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 833.914 — Literature & rhetoric German & related literatures German fiction 1900- 1900-1990 1945-1990
- LCC
- PT2673 .I77 .H3813 — Language and Literature German, Dutch and Scandinavian literatures German literature Individual authors or works 1961-2000
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 43
- Popularity
- 671,278
- Rating
- (3.29)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, German
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 1
