On finishing the book, I could hardly believe that I had transited almost 60 years so smoothly and completely. I felt that I would know those people of Switzerland’s quietly undulating Mittelland if I were to meet them.

I wondered why this would be so.
^The author writes in a clear and concise manner, focussing on just a few main characters, and their interactions, and this gives one a chance to develop a clearer understanding
^ As in a sonata, Tremain sets out the information . e.g ‘Erich was a hero’,

^and then the reason he was a hero comes in the second part, with all the ensuing problems and complexities that came from his heroism.

^ And then there is a continuing theme throughout the book. It is that of love in its different forms. These are seen through the life of Gustav.
LOVE
^ It is in the devotion that Gustav gives to his cold, unloving mother.
^It is in the unwavering lifelong love and almost unquestioning support that he gives his childhood friend, Anton.
^It is in the love and acceptance of the poor boy by the Ziebels, who quietly make him part of the family -although they also use him to support Anton.
^There was Erich who loved hopelessly the voluptuous Lottie.
^There was the doting love of Anton’s mother who always hoped for and wanted the best for her surviving child.
^Then there was Anton, highly strung and self -centred, needing Gustav’s supportive love., who takes a very long time to find love himself.
^And there is even the hotel Perle in which Gustav expressed his unrequited love by pouring his energies into its quality , and caring for his guests in the best way he could.

All these forms of love are interwoven against the background of a mundane small staid middle class Swiss town, whose very quiet ordinariness holds Gustav in its thrall.