All of You Every Single One by  Beatrice Hitchman

All of You Every Single One

Beatrice Hitchman

What comes across more than anything in this story is how love and affection, in spite of everything, endures. In this case it's the bond between Julia and Eve, tested against the backdrop of Vienna pre and post First World War, then again in the late 1930s and life under the Nazis. Vienna is beautifully captured in this absorbing and evocative story that doesn't shy away from addressing antisemitism, homophobia and the violence of the period.

Extract

The gossip in the apartment is Frau Berndt, who is in one of her moods. She has retreated into the concierge's lodge and stayed there for two weeks, speaking to nobody. Music comes from the radio inside, the notes rising and falling frequently, but the shutters stay closed. Meanwhile, outside the walls of the apartment block, tuberculosis, the Viennese disease, hangs on street corners. 'Is the world becoming terrible?' Julia asks, as they walk. They pass the African exhibit, where the Somalis lounge in the shade, playing cards. It has been so popular that the Somalis have been invited to stay, their pay doubled, and superior lodgings found in a modern block near the Rathaus; some of them have accepted the offer. Then into the long grass of the meadow. Poppies nod around Julia's skirt, and Eve lifts her legs like a wading bird. They laugh at each other. The world cannot be terrible. 

But someone nearby is crying - somewhere close to the ground. The grass stems part and a head appears, bobbing towards them. Red hair, like Julia's, and skin that's pink from the sun. The child holds its arms out and runs, wailing, towards Julia. It clutches her around the knees and buries its face in her skirt. 

Parallels
  • Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
  • The Stranger's Child by Alan Hollinghurst
  • The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
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Violence
Explicit sexual Content