It is 1911, and a man boards a ship at the crowded docks in New York City. As he steps on board, the memories begin flooding back, and we learn he is no ordinary man, and this is no ordinary journey.

This transatlantic sailing is the poignant final journey of Gustav Mahler, a renowned composer at the end of his life. He considers the joy and loss he experienced with his wife, Alma, the meaning of art, and the significance of legacy. This culminates in a humbling meditation on the enduring impact of our choices.

About the Author

Robert Seethaler was born in Vienna in 1966 and is the author of several novels including A Whole Life, which was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, and The Tobacconist, which was a number one German bestseller. Originally published in 2023, Seethaler's novel The Cafe with No Name was an instant number one bestseller, spending 44 weeks on the bestseller list. His works have been translated into over 40 languages.

Charlotte Collins studied English at Cambridge University. She worked as an actor and radio journalist in both Germany and the UK before becoming a literary translator. She is best known for her translation of International Booker shortlisted Robert Seethaler's A Whole Life and was the recipient of the Helen & Kurt Wolff's Translator's Prize in 2017. She lives in London.

Reviews
Praise for Robert Seethaler: 'Filled with truth after truth, poignantly rendered and given to us with tender open-handedness. Seethaler is in his very own league, capturing a place and time that is ultimately universal' -- ELIZABETH STROUT
A poet of the small, the random and the event without consequence, [Seethaler's] is a world we can all enjoy * * Guardian * *
Seethaler's literary preoccupations [can be placed] alongside writers such as Claire Keegan, John Berger or John Williams * * Financial Times * *
The prose has the stillness of a Vermeer . . . In a world of action movies and social media there's little time for quiet contemplation. Seethaler reminds us we're part of a whole * * Spectator * *
Seethaler renders a life at once ordinary and exquisite, exploring the vagaries of solitude with a gentle humility * * Times Literary Supplement * *
Seethaler's prose is deceptively simple, filled with exquisite yet simple details. . . warm, fleeting, and profoundly human * * Independent Book Review * *
A god of ordinary people's feelings . . . characters and settings come alive without a single wasted word and with no undue heaviness * * Frankfurter Rundschau * *



Book Information
ISBN 9781837265213
Author Robert Seethaler
Format Paperback
Page Count 128
Imprint Canongate Books
Publisher Canongate Books
Weight(grams) 119g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 8mm