I like not only the description of a city new to the narrator but also the tone of your writing. It is both intimate and dispassionate! I'm not sure how you achieve that. I am fascinated by your observations. I spent a short time in Vienna and had some strange, unsettling experiences. I'd like to share those with you one day.
Thanks so much, Siobhan! Sure I’d love to hear your experiences. As for the narrative voice — that’s a great comment and observation! It felt a little risky to write that way, so I’m quite pleased it’s working for you so far. :)
This is wondrous Kate. You are once again revealing the secrets of a city to me (thinking of Hong Kong and Ivy), yet here in a totally different style. I love the prose, the way it feels intimate to me the reader even though I am not the actual recipient. Beautifully done.
PS a lot of lines made me smile or chuckle. This was one: "The Viennese understand; they enthusiastically maintain a mere four friends."
Hey, I’d been saving this to read since it showed up in my feed, because your Introduction had been so interesting and I wanted to have some space to read.
I really loved the vibe: the lone voice, set in even further solitude by the hostile voices of the Viennese, and - I thought this was fab - the friendly Icelandic voice (with presentiment hovering over the word secret) and the warmer, but indifferent, Chinese voice.
And, man, did you nail Vienna! I found it stifling in its smugness and complacency (apologies to cooler Viennese here on Substack) and I was profoundly aware of xenophobia just around every corner. It’s a big thing to read one’s own sense of a city reflected back in fiction, and while this is clearly quite a shared response to Vienna, I really felt yours very vividly.
What a great comment, Nicolas. Thanks a lot. Without saying too much about the story, this is exactly what I'm going for (at this point). And many of those feelings/encounters are also real.
Very tense first chapter! I love how real-life the experience is as a newcomer. I remember facing xenophobia in North America too. But it was more people whispering and talking behind your back. It seems in some European countries it's very overt. I don't know what's better!
So interesting to compare this. I also think it changes with situations - political or historical - from my experience. I guess I like to know where I stand, but I also prefer to avoid conflict! So don’t know where that leaves me.
I love the evocation of place here. And the hinting at the way perception can be so altered with new information, thought patterns or experiences, as with this line: "I remember them singing out to me at first, marking my inclusion in a common experience. Looking back now, they seem a knell. Reminders of tragedies in the past and warnings of the present." Ooh. Excited for what's to come.
A strong opening with the mystery begun, the hook of fear at the close. I am so glad to have read this opening chapter with its epigraph to Joyce's "The Dead"--one of my favorites as it closes _Dubliners_--and the set up of xenophobia. Well-done!
Loved this first chapter, Kathleen! The descriptions of Vienna are chilling… you managed to dive into some of the most intimate and dark corners of this culture and society. The observations, the writing, the pacing, the tone all work to transpose us into this new reality.
At the end of 2016 I moved to Baden for a whopping 9 months then returned to Vienna in July 2017 but this time in the Margareten bezirk. Then I was gone from Vienna for almost a year starting from October 2018 to September 2019. Then the pandemic started…
We have to chat about Vienna sometime… I’ve lived here for 22 years now. I still wouldn’t be able to describe that certain feel of the city the way you did.
This captures so well the intense observations of a lone outsider, ruminating on her new surroundings by comparison with familiar places of her past. Descriptions like “Their buildings have been used up like reluctant whores,” reveal a dark undertone. I’m hooked!
Great start, Kate! You really capture a simmering dread and alienation, which I also recognize here in Catalunya still, after 5 years - a sometimes not so subtle resistance to outsiders. I'm aghast at police tape across the cleaning products on Sunday, what a strange thing to get martial over. The stage is set for what's to come - love it!
Intriguingly atmospheric, partly the result of that mostly neutral, detached tone of the narrator Siobhan notes. The sense of an outsider outside and observing, off balance, which makes sense for the milieu and Third Man inspiration. Looking forward.
Felt right there with you! Also funny that they sell alcohol on Sundays but no paper towels or anything else (in a lot of US states it’s the opposite ;)
Yeah, it's so strange the first time you see it! Paper towels and Lysol behind tape. I'm from Massachusetts originally where things are pretty strict about selling alcohol. I think you're right that there's probably a 24/7 stop and shop with toilet cleaner though! :)
Ah, die Siebensterngasse. Great descriptions, Kate. Brought me right back there. Including the Meldepflicht! Yes, yes, although I was not surprised as it's the same in Germany, I was surprised NOT to have to register anywhere when I came to France. Marie is in for more of the "Wiener Charme" and "Schmäh" no doubt as she progresses her journey. And yes, there are times to observe when to use a washing machine! Tsk tsk. Excellent details.
All these cultural details are so fascinating, right? You must have found some similar and some strikingly different to Germany, I imagine.
In Basel, it's the same about a Sunday wash. My building is half-Swiss and we have a WhatsApp group. They are the first ones to text if anyone minds they use the communal washing machines! One is a minister. I think it is a mini rebellion. :)
A Whash-Up group Minister. 😅 Now that's fascinating! This would never work here, people do whatever they want, when they want, laissez-faire and all that, a crass generalisation, of course.
That's life. Funny enough, though, my mind jumped from border to LeGuin's Dispossessed. Maybe because it starts with a border, "the idea of a boundary. But the idea was real. It was important. For seven generations there had been nothing in the world more important than that wall." A good book!
I like not only the description of a city new to the narrator but also the tone of your writing. It is both intimate and dispassionate! I'm not sure how you achieve that. I am fascinated by your observations. I spent a short time in Vienna and had some strange, unsettling experiences. I'd like to share those with you one day.
Thanks so much, Siobhan! Sure I’d love to hear your experiences. As for the narrative voice — that’s a great comment and observation! It felt a little risky to write that way, so I’m quite pleased it’s working for you so far. :)
I'm loving the rich portrait of a foreigner's life in Vienna, the bureaucracy, the bells and the bewilderment. Great stuff.
Thank you, Jeffrey! I'm sure you have a lot of these 'moving in' kinds of stories. Sometimes the dissonance hits you later.
(also nice alliteration 😉 )
This is wondrous Kate. You are once again revealing the secrets of a city to me (thinking of Hong Kong and Ivy), yet here in a totally different style. I love the prose, the way it feels intimate to me the reader even though I am not the actual recipient. Beautifully done.
PS a lot of lines made me smile or chuckle. This was one: "The Viennese understand; they enthusiastically maintain a mere four friends."
I do have this amazement with the city; it becomes a character!
Thanks so much for this comment, Nathan. It means a lot!
(Also that is funny. I have a lot of inside jokes in here, inside my head! Happy some of them connect with others or you at least 😆)
Hey, I’d been saving this to read since it showed up in my feed, because your Introduction had been so interesting and I wanted to have some space to read.
I really loved the vibe: the lone voice, set in even further solitude by the hostile voices of the Viennese, and - I thought this was fab - the friendly Icelandic voice (with presentiment hovering over the word secret) and the warmer, but indifferent, Chinese voice.
And, man, did you nail Vienna! I found it stifling in its smugness and complacency (apologies to cooler Viennese here on Substack) and I was profoundly aware of xenophobia just around every corner. It’s a big thing to read one’s own sense of a city reflected back in fiction, and while this is clearly quite a shared response to Vienna, I really felt yours very vividly.
Loved it. Thanks.
What a great comment, Nicolas. Thanks a lot. Without saying too much about the story, this is exactly what I'm going for (at this point). And many of those feelings/encounters are also real.
Much appreciated 🙏
Thank you. Beautiful, thorough writing. You’ve captured me, moth to candle flame.
Thanks for the lovely comment, Fifi!
So atmospheric!
Thanks Kate!
Very tense first chapter! I love how real-life the experience is as a newcomer. I remember facing xenophobia in North America too. But it was more people whispering and talking behind your back. It seems in some European countries it's very overt. I don't know what's better!
So interesting to compare this. I also think it changes with situations - political or historical - from my experience. I guess I like to know where I stand, but I also prefer to avoid conflict! So don’t know where that leaves me.
Thanks a lot, Nadia :)
Definitely. Times are changing and the tensions are shown in different ways today.
I love the evocation of place here. And the hinting at the way perception can be so altered with new information, thought patterns or experiences, as with this line: "I remember them singing out to me at first, marking my inclusion in a common experience. Looking back now, they seem a knell. Reminders of tragedies in the past and warnings of the present." Ooh. Excited for what's to come.
Thanks so much, Stephanie! Appreciate the feedback.
A strong opening with the mystery begun, the hook of fear at the close. I am so glad to have read this opening chapter with its epigraph to Joyce's "The Dead"--one of my favorites as it closes _Dubliners_--and the set up of xenophobia. Well-done!
Thanks so much, Mary!
Happy you appreciated the Joyce quote. Dubliners is one of my favorite books.
We are now connected in so many ways.
Loved this first chapter, Kathleen! The descriptions of Vienna are chilling… you managed to dive into some of the most intimate and dark corners of this culture and society. The observations, the writing, the pacing, the tone all work to transpose us into this new reality.
I lived for 7 years in the Neubau bezirk…
How did we not meet? I was also there from 2016-2020.
Thanks for the lovely comment and for sharing, Claudia!
(ps I have your short story win saved in my queue!)
At the end of 2016 I moved to Baden for a whopping 9 months then returned to Vienna in July 2017 but this time in the Margareten bezirk. Then I was gone from Vienna for almost a year starting from October 2018 to September 2019. Then the pandemic started…
We have to chat about Vienna sometime… I’ve lived here for 22 years now. I still wouldn’t be able to describe that certain feel of the city the way you did.
We must have crossed paths 😃
Baden is beautiful! I used to do the Beethoven walk that ends there quite often.
Would love to read your take on or fictions of the city sometime.
This captures so well the intense observations of a lone outsider, ruminating on her new surroundings by comparison with familiar places of her past. Descriptions like “Their buildings have been used up like reluctant whores,” reveal a dark undertone. I’m hooked!
Thanks so much, Julie! I'm happy some of my weird details make sense. :)
Great start, Kate! You really capture a simmering dread and alienation, which I also recognize here in Catalunya still, after 5 years - a sometimes not so subtle resistance to outsiders. I'm aghast at police tape across the cleaning products on Sunday, what a strange thing to get martial over. The stage is set for what's to come - love it!
So interesting that you see similarities in Catalunya. I wonder if it has to do with history or culture... A tricky matrix. Thanks Troy! 🤗
There are as many theories as there are immigrants who have been told to "go back to your own country" by well-meaning Catalans... ;)
Intriguingly atmospheric, partly the result of that mostly neutral, detached tone of the narrator Siobhan notes. The sense of an outsider outside and observing, off balance, which makes sense for the milieu and Third Man inspiration. Looking forward.
Thanks a lot, Jay. Appreciate the feedback!
Felt right there with you! Also funny that they sell alcohol on Sundays but no paper towels or anything else (in a lot of US states it’s the opposite ;)
Thanks Sabrina!
Yeah, it's so strange the first time you see it! Paper towels and Lysol behind tape. I'm from Massachusetts originally where things are pretty strict about selling alcohol. I think you're right that there's probably a 24/7 stop and shop with toilet cleaner though! :)
I really enjoyed reading this. Now I want more! Great stuff. Brava!
Thank you Silvio! Thanks for subscribing as well.
Ah, die Siebensterngasse. Great descriptions, Kate. Brought me right back there. Including the Meldepflicht! Yes, yes, although I was not surprised as it's the same in Germany, I was surprised NOT to have to register anywhere when I came to France. Marie is in for more of the "Wiener Charme" and "Schmäh" no doubt as she progresses her journey. And yes, there are times to observe when to use a washing machine! Tsk tsk. Excellent details.
All these cultural details are so fascinating, right? You must have found some similar and some strikingly different to Germany, I imagine.
In Basel, it's the same about a Sunday wash. My building is half-Swiss and we have a WhatsApp group. They are the first ones to text if anyone minds they use the communal washing machines! One is a minister. I think it is a mini rebellion. :)
A Whash-Up group Minister. 😅 Now that's fascinating! This would never work here, people do whatever they want, when they want, laissez-faire and all that, a crass generalisation, of course.
Thanks for the rec ☺️
Oh I bet. It’s funny living at the border 😅
That's life. Funny enough, though, my mind jumped from border to LeGuin's Dispossessed. Maybe because it starts with a border, "the idea of a boundary. But the idea was real. It was important. For seven generations there had been nothing in the world more important than that wall." A good book!