The Tortoises

Austria during the Nazi Anschluss is the setting for The Tortoises, by Veza Canetti (1897-1963), wife of writer Elias Canetti. Written in 1939 and published only now in English, the autobiographical novel tells the story of writer Andreas Kain and his wife, Eva, who, while waiting for visas to leave the country, are tormented by a Brown Shirt named Pilz, who is billeted in their apartment. Though the prose is stilted, the story is compelling, and the book's literary pedigree should attract attention. Trans. from the German by Ian Mitchell.