Safe Return Doubtful

Translated by Jamie Bulloch 

A young woman is invited to share a Gugelhupf cake in a bakery in Vienna by an elderly lady dressed from head to toe in black, unaware that her acceptance will change her life.
This is part of Peirene’s Fairy Tale series, though it is a blend of the historical and psycholgical thriller, as well as an examination of addiction.
The young woman, and narrator, is bulimic. The elderly woman, Frau Hohenembs, lives with her maid, Ida, and is obsessed with the Austrian Empress Elizabeth, or Sissi, as she was known. Frau Hohenembs and Ida are soon revealed as thieves of artifacts associated with the Empress from such palces as the Fool’s Tower, and the Sex Museum, which they visit together.
Meanwhile, and interspersed, are segments of Sissi’s biography and her eccentric fads, their relevance serving to make the story even more mysterious. The Empress’s life story is quite an incredible one; particularly the story of her assassin, Luigi Luccheni, and his head.. and the tragedy a young African crippled dwarf, gifted to her as a playmate for her daughter.
So, what have we got here… an exceedingly strange tale of a wicked witch type character, luring an innocent into her clutches with the temptation of her weakness, tantalising food – an adult fairy tale that has elements of humour and horror while dealing with contemporary issues of addiction and modern slavery, with some fascinating snippets of Austrian history thrown in.
All this, and in a three hour read…