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Book Review
Apr. 14th, 2014 10:25 pmThe Exiles Return
by Elisabeth de Waal
This novel is set in 1954-1955 Vienna, a place still recovering from WWII and just about to regain independent status again. It centers around three people who have come to or returned to the city for various reasons. Dr. Kuno Adler is both returning to his pre-war home and life and escaping from his increasingly stifling life in NYC. Theophil Kanakis is returning to re-establish himself as the scion of a wealthy and prominent Vienna family. Marie-Theres, the American born child of Viennese aristocracy, is not returning but trying to find her place in the world by experiencing the world from which her parents came.
The Exiles Return is a well written book, with a pleasingly old-fashioned and dreamy feel. The setting was fascinating, and I did find the characters and their lives engaging. However, I wish that there had been more. The plot could have used more heft, and I think the impact of the final chapters would have been more effective had I been able to spend more time with the characters and seen more of what they did, how they thought, and how they lived.
by Elisabeth de Waal
This novel is set in 1954-1955 Vienna, a place still recovering from WWII and just about to regain independent status again. It centers around three people who have come to or returned to the city for various reasons. Dr. Kuno Adler is both returning to his pre-war home and life and escaping from his increasingly stifling life in NYC. Theophil Kanakis is returning to re-establish himself as the scion of a wealthy and prominent Vienna family. Marie-Theres, the American born child of Viennese aristocracy, is not returning but trying to find her place in the world by experiencing the world from which her parents came.
The Exiles Return is a well written book, with a pleasingly old-fashioned and dreamy feel. The setting was fascinating, and I did find the characters and their lives engaging. However, I wish that there had been more. The plot could have used more heft, and I think the impact of the final chapters would have been more effective had I been able to spend more time with the characters and seen more of what they did, how they thought, and how they lived.
