All of You Every Single One by Beatrice Hitchman

 Monday, May 30, 2022--San Antonio

All of You Every Single One by Batrice Hitchman covers the period from 1911-1946. It starts in Sweden where a woman married to a playwright realizes she is unhappy and discontented after meeting a female tailor whose present provides a spark of excitement and interest.  The two women leave for Vienna where they plan to build a life of their own together.  They settle in a Bohemian area of the city and slowly find friends among other fringe members of society--a Jewish landlady, a gay neighbor, a child they raise as guardians, etc.; the result is that they become what is known today as "a chosen family" by those who find their lives do not fit within the conventional expectations of most members of society and sometimes find themselves rejected by their blood families.  The novel, however, is really about how their lives are much like everyone else's with the added factors of 1) always being alert for dangerous reactions from others who can be threatened by people who are different and do not follow the "rules" of society and 2) not being able to accomplish among themselves what cisgender people do--not able to marry, not able to have children when they wish they could, etc.  However, life continues through these various challenges with some quite shocking results and even without as much interference as might be expected.  Side relationships develop with members of high society, escapes are required to avoid the law and later the Nazis, hopes are raised and dashed, and secrets are exposed.  But life goes on.  The story has such scope and such interesting characters that I kept imagining that it could become a Masterpiece Theater production for BBC/PBS.  I gave the book 4 stars out of 5.