Robert Seethaler's The Tobacconist (2017) is a novel about war and friendship. The novel is set during the Nazi occupation of Vienna, Austria, during WWII. It follows a seventeen-year-old young man named Franz Huchel, who travels to Vienna to become an intern at a tobacco shop. While working at the shop, Franz meets Sigmund Freud, and the two build a unique and enduring friendship. When the two first meet a young woman named Anezka, they fall in love with her. But it is Franz who asks Freud for advice about female sexuality, which Freud admits baffles him too. Meanwhile, conditions across the country became more unstable as the Nazi war machine gripped Austria more tightly, harming its inhabitants along the way. Ultimately, this forces the three to make a choice: should they stay or leave Austria?
The Tobacconist earned Seethaler a nomination for the prestigious Man Booker Prize. Reviews from critics were likewise very positive. Christian House of The Guardian opined that Seethaler "has another hit on his hands" and that "Seethaler blends tragedy and whimsy to create a bittersweet picture of youthful ideals getting clobbered by external forces. The result is a little like Great Expectations, only with dachshunds and strudel." As with Seethaler's previous novels, The Tobacconist quickly became a bestseller, indicating that it resonated with its readers.
