I learned about this book on a reading blog I have consulted for years, Tony’s Book World. I am sad to say it was Tony’s last entry before he died last summer. Tony worked in the world of computers, lived in Wisconsin, and was a great reader. I was emboldened by his writing to read much more ambitiously than I would have otherwise; I credit him with making me willing to read books that left me off balance. I wonder how many times in this blog I’ve acknowledged Tony’s recommendations for books, probably hundreds. Thank you to Deborah who is keeping the blog up for now.
The book is set in Vienna in 1966, though there were enough references about the city recovering from the war that I assumed it was set in the 1950s. There is no hint of the imperial city with its great orchestra and fancy pastries in elegant coffee houses that tourists might visit, except for the great ferris wheel which is spoken of with disdain. The focus is on a humble market that might be in a remote isolated village.
Robert Simon is the central character, a hard-working man who worked odd jobs for the vendors in the market until the lease on a small café became available. The author tells about the characters who come into the café and their community. Just after Robert opened the café, Mila, a young woman in dire straits came along and he offered her a job. The two of them ran the café for ten years at which time the lease was not renewed. Robert rented a room in a house owned by a widow who told him how to make hot punch so that the café survived when the weather changed. The “menu” was pretty minimal: along with beer and the hot punch, they served bread, dripping, and gherkins. The widow slipped into dementia and Robert visited her every week in a facility although she didn’t always recognize him. Robert was kind and forgiving of the various characters and their foibles. There’s René, a wrestler who needs Robert’s encouragement to ask Mila to go for a walk with him and we learn of their good times and bad.
There is only a minimal plot in this slice-of-life book. The dispassionate tone reminded me of a writer recommended by Laura that I read recently, Wright Morris. I assumed this book was written in an earlier time, but it was published this year. The author’s perspective of looking at this community over ten years gave us a gentle yet realistic view.
Here is one stark observation the author makes: “…for some time now he [Robert] had felt a certain emptiness beginning to spread inside him. Opening the café had fulfilled his dream, but now he was becoming aware of the sober fact that every dream disappears the moment it comes true.” Well, yes, true, but what an incomplete observation that leaves out the joy and satisfaction.
Robert Seethaler, trans. by Katy Derbyshire, The Café with No Name, Europe Editions, 2025, 191 pages (I listened to the audiobook). Available in the public library.