11/08/2021
Hitchman (Petite Mort ) tells a preoccupying if underwhelming story of queer love in Vienna over the course of both world wars. Julia Lindqvist, 26, is unhappily married in 1910 when, during a vacation in France, she meets a young tailor, Eve Perret, who passes as a man. The women begin a loving, lifelong partnership in Vienna, where they try to find a way to live as a couple. Under the protective wing of Frau Berndt, they create a new family of neighbors and friends, but Julia yearns for a child. The narrative shifts perspectives between Julia, Eve, and other key people in their lives. Ada Bauer is abused by her foster brother, Emil, with whom glamorous hustler Rolf Gruber falls in love. Ada receives treatment from Sigmund Freud, but the other characters don’t believe her claims about Emil; later, Ada and Rolf hatch a plot to help Julia realize her dreams. Hitchman makes good use of interwar bohemian Vienna, presenting it as a time capsule of relative permissiveness before the rise of the Nazis, though the happy ending after WWII feels far-fetched, and the cameos of such historical figures as Freud don’t add much to the narrative. Though there are some bright moments, little distinguishes this in a crowded field. Agent: Olivia Davies, United Agents. (Jan.)
With a masterful eye for historical detail, Beatrice Hitchman’s ambitious new novel plunges us headfirst into the bohemian world of Vienna’s early 20th century golden age, as a sprawling cast of queer characters found themselves drawn into the liberal orbit of the city’s Jewish quarter in the search for romance, companionship, or simply independence in an otherwise unforgiving world....All of You Every Single One shines as a beautiful, poignant, and deeply felt tale of holding on to the love of the chosen families we create, even in the most adverse of historical circumstances.”—Vogue.com Kirkus Reviews
“A gorgeous trip across time and identity, through war and fascism, to show how people make new families and find ways to love each other.”
—Kate Pullinger, award-winning author of The Mistress of Nothing Buzzfeed, The Best Books to Read in January Brit + Co Sophie Ward, Booker Prize-longlisted author of Love and Other Thought Experiments All of You Every Single One by Beatrice Hitchman...Populated with rich and vibrant characters, All of You Every Single One is a stellar work that blends the best of history and fiction.”—Historical Novels Review Women.com Manhattan Book Review Daily Hive Katie Ward, award-winning author of Girl Reading Laura Carlin, author of The Wicked Cometh
A gorgeous trip across time and identity, through war and fascism, to show how people make new families and find ways to love each other.”
The story flows with epic majesty . . . A rich and dynamic narrative expertly told; authentic characters skillfully shaped with genuine empathy; and beautifully crafted historical descriptions written with superb grace.”
author of The Wicked Cometh Laura Carlin
Beatrice Hitchman’s writing is beautiful from the start... The little community that built up around them caught me by the heart at once, and I found I didn’t know how to escape it. I also found I didn’t particularly want to.
The tale of queer love, family, and freedom in one of the greatest cities of the early 20th century is eloquently depicted in All of You Every Single One by Beatrice Hitchman...Populated with rich and vibrant characters, All of You Every Single One is a stellar work that blends the best of history and fiction.”
A gorgeous and deeply moving novel...Hitchman takes readers on an atmospheric and unforgettable journey.
Beatrice Hitchman’s latest novel takes readers on a journey of love, freedom, and what defines family in 20th century Vienna...A touching and atmospheric ode to queer characters and their struggles during such a poignant time in history, we can guarantee you won’t put this one down until it's finished.
As Hitchman moves us across decades, we see Vienna, politics, and the lives of queer people, change for each of these characters... It's a novel about found family, the consequences of decisions, and how far we'll go for love — especially in an age of oppression.
The Best Books to Read in January Buzzfeed
"This liberating novel about queer chosen family is beautifully detailed and filled with heart."
With the delicacy and beauty of Flaubert, Hitchman tells the exquisite story of two women trying to make a life together in wartime Austria, and all the love, friendship and danger that implies.”
Booker Prize-longlisted author of Love and Other T Sophie Ward
For all its big themes, this novel never stops being tender. Hitchman has beautifully captured the ebb and flow of long-term relationships, from first lust to the pathos of familiarity . . . gorgeously written on every single page.”
award-winning author of Girl Reading Katie Ward
With a masterful eye for historical detail, Beatrice Hitchman’s ambitious new novel plunges us headfirst into the bohemian world of Vienna’s early 20th century golden age, as a sprawling cast of queer characters found themselves drawn into the liberal orbit of the city’s Jewish quarter in the search for romance, companionship, or simply independence in an otherwise unforgiving world....All of You Every Single One shines as a beautiful, poignant, and deeply felt tale of holding on to the love of the chosen families we create, even in the most adverse of historical circumstances.”
01/01/2022
In 1910, Julia Lindqvist leaves her husband for his tailor, Eve Perret, a woman who dresses like a man. They run away to Vienna, hoping to find a place where they can safely be together. There they create a kind of family with the neighbors in their apartment building, as they struggle to build a new life. Frau Berndt, their landlady, becomes a confidante, while flamboyant Rolf becomes their best friend and entrée into Vienna's queer community, with Gunther and Heidi rounding out their gatherings. Then Heidi gets pregnant, igniting in Julia a fierce desire to have a child and threatening her relationship with Eve. Meanwhile Rolf begins an affair with Emil, a married man who is part of the wealthy Bauer family. His cousin, Ada Bauer, starts seeing Dr. Freud after Emil's abuse causes an onset of mutism. When Emil's wife Isabella gets pregnant and he spurns Rolf, a chain of events is set in motion that will profoundly affect all of their lives. VERDICT Hitchman (Petite Mort ) has written an absorbing novel of love and lust and found family that spans 1910 to 1946, a period when Vienna was a haven for queer couples, then turned dangerous when the Nazi Party ascended to power.—Melissa DeWild
2021-11-10
In 1910, the Austro-Hungarian capital is the “greatest city in the Western Hemisphere,” where “art and music flourish” and “Herr Doktor Freud” analyzes troubled minds. Among its newest arrivals are Eve Perret, a skilled tailor who dresses as a man, and the beautiful and spoiled Julia Lindqvist, who has left her Swedish playwright husband to be with Eve. With very little money, the couple settle in the Jewish quarter of Leopoldstadt, where their landlady, Frau Berndt, introduces them to fellow tenant Rolf Gruber, a flamboyant would-be theater impresario. After he helps Eve get a job, she discovers that he too is gay. “He is like us,” she excitedly tells Julia. “He loves men.” The two women gradually build a small community of friends and neighbors, but Julia’s desire for a child overshadows their happiness. Shifting narrative perspectives, Hitchman also introduces 16-year-old Ada Bauer, who has a crush on her closeted cousin Emil’s wife, Isabella. When Isabella becomes pregnant, Ada and Rolf, Emil’s spurned lover, hatch a plot with life-altering consequences. Hitchman excels at capturing both the liberating permissiveness of turn-of-the-century Vienna and the city’s paralyzing fear after Hitler’s 1938 annexation of Austria, but the big time jump between 1913, when the novel’s first part ends, and 1938 and then 1946 feels jarring. Her main characters are sympathetically drawn, but all are not given equal focus. The more compelling Eve receives less attention than the self-absorbed Julia; how did she cope as a butch lesbian when the Nazis began cracking down on Jews, homosexuals, and other “undesirables”?
An engrossing, if flawed, novel.
