Vienna Girl

Two great books about a young girl - to young woman's -experiences in Vienna during and after WWII. In some ways, this sequel to the war book, The Water Castle, isdarker, sadder. The Water Castle feels more like a fable,and is rather twinkly even at the century's most hideous moment. The Water Castle, from the grown girl''s per-spective, delivers the weight of the destruction...the detritus of war, dreary and sad, and yet, at the same time, she retains the ability to be romantic about life, to remember her questionably-involved parents with love, and to fall in loveherself. Highly recommended storytelling.