Tanja Paar - In Semmering

In this densely atmospheric novel, Tanja Paar brings to life the Austrian town of Semmering and its ordinary inhabitants, living under the looming threat of fascism.

For railway worker Bertl and his wife Klara, Semmering represents a step up: his promotion to stationmaster includes a little house with a garden, no small thing at a time when Austria is in an economic crisis and unemployment is rife. Writing with verve and a passion for detail, Tanja Paar takes us behind the scenes of this elegant summer resort, exploring the lives of maids and woodcutters, smallholders and wealthy farmers, of Postmistress Negrelli and of Rahel, who cooks kosher meals for the Jewish guests. Political tensions slowly ratchet up—even here, in this peaceful spa town far from the capital of Vienna—and when the Nazis seize power in 1938, the idyll is finally shattered for good. Will Klara be able to save her friend Rahel from deportation?