A Whole LifeA Whole Life
Score Modern
What it's about
Andreas Egger arrives in an Austrian Alpine valley as a young boy, taken in by a farming family, and lives his whole life there. A man of few words, he proposes to the woman he loves by having her name lit across the mountain at dusk. Loss, war and the changing modern world come to his valley, and he endures.
Why it's worth reading
It was a finalist for the International Booker Prize. It's a short, quiet and deeply moving novel about an ordinary life.
You'll love it if you liked
Stoner
The Remains of the Day
A Gentleman in MoscowGood to know
It's very short, about 150 pages. It's translated from German.
By the numbers
- Readers70 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics27 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller3 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz4 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #785 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #1471 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
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Quick answers
Is A Whole Life worth reading?
Yes. It was a finalist for the International Booker Prize. It ranks #1,471 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 68.5 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is A Whole Life about?
Andreas Egger arrives in an Austrian Alpine valley as a young boy, taken in by a farming family, and lives his whole life there. A man of few words, he proposes to the woman he loves by having her name lit across the mountain at dusk. Loss, war and the changing modern world come to his valley, and he endures.
How long does it take to read A Whole Life?
About 4 hours (160 pages), or about 8 days at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after A Whole Life?
If you liked it, try Stoner by John Williams, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro or A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.