In den Armen des Flüchtlings von Alexandra von Kicz

Na Servas!
This is a delightful summer read, delivered in a format reminiscent of the schmaltzy chick-lit romance genre, the so-called “Groschenroman”, but beware:
Despite its crisp and light-footed appearance and well-worn clichés, testifying to the author’s marvellous sense of irony, wit and humour, the story is blended with a wide range of sensory and sensual perceptions from the visual, olfactory and kinesthetic . It is graced with a stupendous amount of detail, feelings and glimpses that touch the core of our humanity, including our psychological understanding of the world we inhabit.
The protagonists are beautifully brought to life, the set of characters covers the whole social stratum from the well-heeled to the carefree to the refugee: their thoughts, fears, longings, quirks and foibles, superficialities – like Lisa’s thirst for “It-bags” - and deep-seated worries. We are invited to discover the values they uphold, and follow them through illusion and reality, through dignity, curiosity and moral courage or wickedness in the face of adversity. Travelling with Lisa, Aziz, Katharina, Nike, Sebastian and others takes us into life as it is, raising some important questions like how do we deal with today’s multicultural and multinational society, day by day, and “What is home, Heimat”?
We all squirm under the power structures and hypocritical behaviour employed by people that hold on to tradition and financial power as a tool of suppression, play “heile Welt” that has long ceased to exist, never did exist, actually, causing fear and anger.
The narrative strands around the two protagonists are skilfully intertwined, with plenty of surprise elements that get us readers hooked. The wonderful Austrian vernacular is well absorbed by Alexandra Kicz who is not Austrian, as the dustjacket suggests, but seems to have lived in Vienna for a while. So much to smile at, so much to LOL in this novel. It would be marvellous to have a sequel to the story. Na, Servas! What a challenge! We live in hope! ;)

Witziges, subversiv-tiefgründiges Erstlingswerk der "Alexandra von Kicz", nicht nur für junge Kenner und Liebhaber der Wiener Szene oder des Herz-Schmerz Romans, der besonders im kollokativen Sprachgebrauch hervorblitzt ;) Herrliche Fabulierlust, gutes Tempo, und die bisweilen durchaus ernst zu nehmende Situationskomik garantieren höchst vergnügliche Lesestunden!