What makes us who we are? Arno Geiger's father was never an easy man to know and when he developed Alzheimer's, Arno realised he was not going to ask for help. 'As my father can no longer cross the bridge into my world, I have to go over to his.' So Arno sets out on a journey to get to know him at last. Born in 1926 in the Austrian Alps, into a farming family who had an orchard, kept three cows, and made schnapps in the cellar, his father was conscripted into World War II as a 'schoolboy soldier' - an experience he rarely spoke about, though it marked him. Striking up a new friendship, Arno walks with him in the village and the landscape they both grew up in and listens to his words, which are often full of unexpected poetry.Through his intelligent, moving and often funny account, we begin to see that whatever happens in old age, a human being retains their past and their character. Translated into nearly 30 languages, The Old King in His Exile will offer solace and insight to anyone coping with a loved one's aging.

The year is 1944 and Veit Kolbe, a young German soldier, injured fighting in Russia, is recovering at Mondsee, a village and a lake below Drachenwand mountain, close to Salzburg in Austria. Here he meets Margot and Margarete, two young women who share his hope that sometime, sooner or later, life will begin again. The war is lost but how long will it take before it finally comes to its end? In Hinterland, Arno Geiger tells of Veit's nightmares and the strangely normal life of the small village, of the Brazilian who dreams of returning to Rio de Janeiro, of the landlady and her rallying calls, of Margarete the teacher with whom Veit falls in love, but who doesn't return his affection. But when Veit's wounds are healed his next call-up orders arrive. The military outlook for Germany and Austria looks increasingly grim and Veit's luck has run out . . .

The year is 1944 and Veit Kolbe, a young German soldier, injured fighting in Russia, is recovering at Mondsee, a village and a lake below Drachenwand mountain, close to Salzburg in Austria. Here he meets Margot and Margarete, two young women who share his hope that sometime, sooner or later, life will begin again. The war is lost but how long will it take before it finally comes to its end? In Hinterland, Arno Geiger tells of Veit's nightmares and the strangely normal life of the small village, of the Brazilian who dreams of returning to Rio de Janeiro, of the landlady and her rallying calls, of Margarete the teacher with whom Veit falls in love, but who doesn't return his affection. But when Veit's wounds are healed his next call-up orders arrive. The military outlook for Germany and Austria looks increasingly grim and Veit's luck has run out . . .

The year is 1944 and Veit Kolbe, a young German soldier, injured fighting in Russia, is recovering in a small village below Drachenwand mountain in Austria. Here he meets Margot and Margarete, two young women who share his hope that sometime, sooner or later, life will begin again. The war is lost but how long will it take before it finally comes to its end? Arno Geiger’s Hinterland, translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch, tells of Veit’s nightmares and the strangely normal life of the village, of the Brazilian who dreams of returning to Rio de Janeiro, of the landlady and her rallying calls, of Margarete the teacher with whom Veit falls in love, but who doesn’t return his affection. But when Veit’s wounds are healed his next call-up orders arrive. The military outlook for Germany and Austria looks increasingly grim and Veit’s luck has run out . . .

We read to explore the unknown, but also to recognize ourselves in others. Arno Geiger's "We Are Doing Fine" offers both pleasures. This fourth novel (winner of the German Book Prize 2005) of the 1968-born Austrian writer highlights events in the lives of three generations of a Viennese family as viewed through the eyes of Philipp, who has inherited the villa of his recently deceased grandmother. While cleaning - no gutting - the house and ridding it of most reminders of its former occupants, the grandson is forced to think about his family more than is to his liking. In a brilliantly sparse and precise language, Geiger mixes crucial incidents of Austrian history with both everyday and tragic occurrences in the family's private lives. His ear for and empathy with the characters, particularly the women in the story, is exceptional. A dysfunctional family emerges and is even more poignant because the specific Austrian background only makes the universal in such families more apparent. Philipp is following family tradition when he tries to make clear to his married girlfriend that he neither knows much nor wants to find out more about his family. This is the crux of "We Are Doing Fine" and the reason why it has more than regional appeal. Austrians have sometimes been accused of having a selective memory, of an aptitude to gloss over uncomfortable truths, and of a penchant for appearances. Geiger's characters display all of these characteristics to various degrees, but one cannot help but notice that such shortcomings are by now shared by most of society as we know it. Maybe one only can make it through the day when one surfs the surface and when one uses a pat response to all inquiries about one's general state of being: "We are doing fine".