The Luck of the Weissensteiners (The Three Nations Trilogy) by Christoph Fischer

younger years he had been as enthusiastic fo r life as Greta had always been but since his wife’s death, Jonah had turned into an old version of his lifeless and ever so introverted son Egon. Jonah was asking the right questions and took an active interest in the life of his children, but he seemed not to be taking it in, and appeared mentally not really to be present when he spoke to them. It left his children feeling distant and disconnected. Wilma was also living in her own little world and usually too busy with whatever she was doing to take a look at the big picture. She did not have the skills necessary to reach out to him and bridge the gap between them. Greta was the only one who could sometimes bring him out of his shell and back into the family life. With her back in the house, the Weissensteiners had the opportunity to become a close unit again.
    Th e task ahead of healing her hurt almost gave Jonah a new lease of life. He hated to admit it but of his three children, he favoured Greta more than he should; Egon was a good natured boy but very secretive and closed. The connection with Wilma was weak because she was an odd character that not many people could understand and sadly he was not one of those few. She was the middle child and had always hidden behind the bigger sister, a scatter brain who could not concentrate long enough to hear a story till the end and who could certainly not remember much of it an hour later, the impulsive breaker of things, the harsh and rude girl that upset people easily without even meaning to do so, and a young woman who did not really hold for any kind of tradition – it was hard for her father to form a close bond with her. She wore her heart on her sleeve and spoke before thinking things through. Too often she saw everything in black and white and could only see the surface of things. She was willing and eager to help but when she did, she did things so hurriedly and so carelessly, often making more of a mess than being a help. In comparison, Greta was so wise and he had to admit to himself that he did prefer her company to that of his other children.
    Greta stayed for a few weeks during which she would sit reading by the upstairs kitchen window. Jonah and the Countess had gone to Wilhelm’s bookshop and bought two brand new books for Greta, embarrassing her husband who had not thought of it himself. When asked he could not for the life of him think of which books to recommend for his grief stricken wife. He doubted that the romantic and passionate literature that she usually preferred was a good pastime in her current state.
    Jonah settled for a collection of fairy tales and the Countess chose a collection of works by Eichendorff, who according to Greta , could always be relied upon for a very cheerful tone and a splendidly happy ending. Wilhelm was awfully quiet and uncomfortable. The Countess was appalled by the husband's lack of care and interest and threw him scolding looks. Her aristocratic authority intimidated the poor sales assistant and left him lost for words. Jonah had to make most of the conversation by himself, telling his son-in-law how sad Greta still was and how she missed her son. Jonah found it hard to hide his growing resentment to Wilhelm’s self-indulgent grief and the neglectful behaviour towards Greta. That man had turned into a young spoilt child and hardly resembled the serious and mature man that had married his daughter. It was a sad development and Jonah could only hope that this phase would end soon and that once the couple was reunited they would work things out. After all, the doctors were hopeful that Greta should be able to have plenty more children. It was disappointing to lose a child but it had not even been born yet, not opened his eyes or said its first words. How could a young couple, with so much life and prospects ahead of them, be taken down by one minor setback like this? In his opinion, the young lovers should be together and