A turning of the lens away from the battlefields of WWII and onto the civilian experience makes Hinterland a thoughtful, moving addition to the fiction depicting that time. Full review at: https://lizzysiddal2.wordpress.com/2022/12/19/hinterland-arno-geiger/

Should be 3.5. My first reaction was that this book was a real slog. However parts of it are truly hypnotic and on the whole I was glad I read it. I hasten to add I read the translation.

The main figure is Veit Kolb, an Austrian soldier, who has been wounded and is recovering at home. When his father's attitude becomes unbearable Kolb moves to Mondsee where his uncle resides. Here he meets Margot and the two begin a relationship.

Kolb's diary is the main body of the book but we also hear (via either diary entries or letters) from Margot's mother, a young soldier who has a connection with Mondsee and a Jew who has not left Austria until it is too late to do so.

This book is quite detailed in that it describes daily life for all the contributors, which can become repetitive. It is easy to see why this technique is used with the letters as the postal system grinds to a halt and letters overlap or get lost before arriving two or three at a time.

However the main voice of Veit Kolb is the one you remember. His disillusionment with the Fuhrer, the army and the war in general brings him into conflict with his parents, his uncle and his landlady to name a few. The only thing that keeps him sane is his relationship with Margot and his desire to stay as far away from the Eastern front as possible.

The good news is that at the end of the book there is an epilogue detailing what happened to all the characters so you are not left wondering.

All in all an interesting novel which could have been quite a bit shorter were it not for the seeming desire to convey the monotony of war. I might recommend this to those truly interested in the voices of minor players in the second world war. Its well written and a lot of it is heartbreaking. 3.5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance translation copy.