Our Man in Vienna By Richard Timothy Conroy

Our Man in viennacontemporary 2023

The wit and charm that marked Our Man in Belize enlivens Richard Timothy Conroy s new diplomatic memoir in a posting that couldn t have a different location But the wheels of lower level diplomacy it turns out turn at the same rate whatever the setting Plucked from the cost of Central America and put down in post World War II Vienna land of Der Rosencavalier and whipped cream cakes Conroy still was not mentioned in dispatches or at least not complimentary ones but even a lowly vice consul could do some good in people s lives Take for example his effort to help a woman flee Vienna after she reported that someone was sneaking into her room and slicing off a bit of her foot each night Or the unfortunate Austrian whose visa application had been rejected three previous times with no explanation Conroy discovered that there was a picture of the man in a Red Army sergeant s uniform Turned out the man had conned a gullible Red Army soldier to lend him the uniform for a snapshot and an equally gullible group of Russian border guards that he was an undercover Red agent posing as what he really was an export import businessman Nobody before Conroy had bothered to ask for an explanation In between similar tales of deep diplomatic deed and misdeed the author gives his readers an imitable take on the Vienna of those days Want to buy a second hand piano Some inexpensive paintings How about above all that famous Viennese food and beer You could have found it there with Conroy as your guide failing that his account of those days is just as rewarding and not nearly as fattening Our Man in ViennaI hate giving under 3 star reviews but I can t bring myself to give this one than two stars It was quite enjoyable at times ngl it felt like a conversation with an elderly relative about the good old days in mid century Vienna which was engaging and exciting and funny at times That being said though the book feels a lot just like a random compilation of memories and thoughts and the chapters oftentimes didn t have a clear structure or climax or even direction And neither did the whole book I for example didn t get why the last chapter was in there at all seeing as there was no connection to any of the other anecdotes in the book and regarding the fact that the author was not even in Vienna any but in the US again I m a little confused English Well written memoir about a low level government employee with some entertaining quirky stories I picked it up because it was set in Vienna but would have enjoyed it regardless of setting English