The End of Days

In the Hapsburg Empire, a newborn baby dies suddenly, leaving her parents to grieve into eternity. But what if fate had taken a different turn? Perhaps she survives and grows up in Vienna? Over the years, she faces death again and again, only to live on in another place and time. Her journey traces the history of war, of religious and political conflict that comes to define eastern Europe in the 20th century. Erpenbeck's ambitious novel (following Visitation) features an experimental, nonlinear arc. The depiction of minutiae, such as the freezing cold during times of deprivation and the frisson of longing that might come with the mere touch of a hand, provide the tiny stitches that connect the wandering story line. Like falling dominoes, each moment may have a long-term effect that reaches into lives unknown. In the end, it seems, no one can truly run away from grief.