A Whole Life

"One of my treasured discoveries this year was Robert Seethaler's A Whole Life . . . From the very first page you know it's about to rearrange your mental universe. It is a breathtaking, heartbreaking story that encapsulates a universe of change, loss, resilience." --Anuradha Roy, The Millions

"Mr. Seethaler has produced a compact work of grace and beauty." --Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal

"A Whole Life is a provocatively ambitious title for this spare, novella-length work . . . Flecked with profundity [and] dark humor." --John Williams, The New York Times

"A tender and moving look at the human capacity for adaptation, Seethaler's understated tale is a reminder that joy can be found in daily toils and simple pleasures." --Jonathan Fullmer, Booklist

"Readers will discover in [Seethaler's] contained prose a vehicle for keen insight and observation." --Publishers Weekly

"The book's prose has a directness and detail that helps set off the moments of genuine wisdom and restrained poetry . . . It is at this point that you realize why the novel should be doing so well in Germany, and why it is so urgent for the rest of us: it can guide its readers to make the best of their lives, however they turn out." --Sunday Telegraph

"Against the backdrop of a literary world that often seems crowded with novels yelling 'Look at me!, ' it's refreshing to read a story marked by quiet, concentrated attention . . . Deeply moving." --Sunday Times

"Seethaler shows that for even the most ordinary people, life is an extraordinary adventure--and he does so tenderly and memorably." --Mail on Sunday