The Fifth Year

by Marlen Haushofer, Shaun Whiteside (Translator)

A haunting story of a childhood in the Austrian countryside from the author of The Wall

The Fifth Year follows a five-year-old girl, Marili, through each season of a single year on her grandparents’ farm in the mountains of Austria. Her grand-mother is a quiet, melancholic woman; her grandfather, with his calm, cheerful disposition, radiates warmth. Marili’s parents have presumably died in the war, and she is left to discover—with curiosity, wonder, and fear—the beauty and darkness of a quiet pastoral life. Sinister elements lurk beneath the surface of The Fifth Year, in Marili’s dreams and fantasies, and this deceptively simple tale of childhood, told in effervescent and evocative prose, bubbles to life in Marlen Haushofer’s inimitably alarming style.

Genres: Fiction, Novella, Literary Fiction, Literature, Classics, Family, Coming Of Age

80 pages, Paperback

Published May 26, 2026

About the author

Marlen Haushofer was born in Frauenstein, Molln, Austria on April the 11th, 1920. She went to a Catholic gymnasium that was turned in a public school under the Nazi regime. She started her studies on German Language and Literature, in 1940 in Vienna and later on in Graz. She married the dentist Manfred Haushofer in 1941, they divorced in 1950 but reunited in 1957. They had a son together, in addition to the one son she had brought to their “second” marriage.

Although Marlen Haushofer won prizes for her work and gained critics laud, she was an almost forgotten author until the Women's Movement rediscovered her, with special attention of the role of women in the male-dominated society themes in her work.

Die Wand (The Wall) can be seen as her main-work. It was published 1963, and it's a novel about a woman cut off from society that made her living on her own in the woods. Not only because of the open ending, the novel allows a big variety of interpretations.
Marlen Haushofer came down with bone cancer and died on March the 21st 1970, she was only 49 years old.

Reviews

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Translated from German, this is a quiet book, a moving novella about a 5 year old girl, orphaned by the death of her parents, cared for by elderly grandparents. The world living in the Alps seen through the eyes of a child’s innocence and inquisitiveness is sweet as she acclimates to the natural world around her, bonds with her grandparents, but scary at times with dreams of toads and the picture of Jesus on the cross on the wall. While loved and cared for, the grief that envelops her grandmother sits heavy. This is one where I would have like more of story to know more about what happens with Marili as she grows up, what might happen to her when her grandparents are gone.

I received a copy of this book from W.W. Norton through Edelweiss.

[Liralen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhere in the Austrian mountains, a young girl is growing up with her grandparents. The in-between generation is gone: some lost to illness, some lost to war; it is unclear what, exactly, befell Marili's parents, partly because she is old enough to ask questions but not really old enough to understand the full weight of the world in which she is growing up. Instead we see that Marili's grandparents are still grieving losses—some old, some new—that she can register but not, yet, put into context.

This was Haushofer's first published book, with the original Das fünfte Jahr coming out in 1952. War must have been so present still, in broken buildings but especially in the missing and the dead. "This," says Marili's grandmother, "is where they lie, Hans and Franz and your mother. We don't know anything about Stefan and your father, they're somewhere in Russia." (loc. 472*)

I'm reminded a bit of Heidi, of course (though these grandparents are neither recluses nor grumps), and of Claire Keegan's Foster, though the setting and situation are different. Mostly this is a sweet and charming story, but an undercurrent of darkness runs throughout the story, starting with Marili's fear of the crucified Jesus painting hanging in her room and continuing through the grief her grandparents will so clearly carry for the rest of their lives. (I'm extrapolating, but I got the sense that raising another child is more than they'd bargained for, but also that being able to do so in the face of such loss is one of the things that helps them get up in the morning.)

3.5 stars for a quiet and curious book.

*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

[Annie Tate Cockrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet and slim little book about a young, animal loving, girl living with her grandparents. A lot like The Summer Book (Tove Jansson) or Foster (Claire Keegan).

[Claire Askew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was phenomenal. It follows one year in the life of Marili, a five-year-old girl living in the mountains of Austria with her grandparents. In one sense, nothing much happens - she plays in the forest, helps around the house, has daydreams and nightmares - but she is five, experiencing the world for the very first time, so, also, *everything* happens. It's so poignant. She is so small and the world is so big and it's so much to take in! I love how it captures the dreaminess, the dream *logic*, of early childhood, when everything is new and grown-ups just tell you how the world is and you barely have any context for anything. I love Marili. The plants of the forest are her intimate friends, the God she's taught to pray to is like a kindly distant relative but Christ, who lives in a creepy painting of his crucifixion, is a sinister force, and how does she really know that the toad from her nightmares won't show up in waking life? It's sweet but not precious, and it's one year in the life of one child but also an interesting, moving portrait of the era. Marili lives with her grandparents because her parents' entire generation (in her family, at least) is dead from either war or illnesses that are easily preventable today. The prose is so spare and evocative. If you are looking for a book that you can read in one or two sittings and be deeply moved by, this is it! 

[Olivia Stepper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another quick guy - very sweet and reminded me how much I enjoyed The Wall. The scenery is much the same and makes me want to do the sound of music tour.

[Isa · Rating 4 out of 5]

When an adult is able to write through the eyes of a child without being cloying or condescending, I always enjoy the wondrous effect. I usually am not a fan of pastoral novels, however, seeing the world through Marili's curious eyes made it so much more enjoyable.

[Jeanette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This surprises me because I could not embed in this one whatsoever. She DID portray the child's thoughts/ "eyes" of outlook to a 5 star level. But to me the read was at the most a meh! When I was 5 I lived behind a grocery store (Mom & Pop) for most of my waking and/or sleeping hours. Sometimes I was pretty spooked, but this little girl? Hard to understand someone that introverted for relevance to/with people or readers who are absolutely not. I'd guess? Maybe not. But for me this had all the personality and vitality of a turnip. Don't have the taste for it.

[Maureen Grigsby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed the short novels of Austrian author Marlen Haushofer, but this one didn’t really go anywhere. It is about one year on a farm with a five year old girl and her grandparents.

[Hannah]

My 1000th book logged on here…

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Haushofer, and it will not be my last.
My thanks to New Directions and NetGalley for an eARC of this title, to be published May 5, 2026.
While English language publishers showed some interest in Haushofer's work while she was alive (1920-1970, died of bone cancer), she never caught on with English readers.
But the 2021 film of her "The Wall" (I've yet to read it, or see the film) generated some new interest.
"The Fifth Year" is Haushofer's first published work. A novella from 1952, told from the perspective of a 5 year old girl in Austria. Living with her grandparents in a rural area, because her parents (and their siblings) all have died, mostly in WWII.
We go through the four seasons, starting with Winter. The Seasons and her connection to her grandmother and grandfather - two very different personalities - are the two most important influences of her young life.
From the POV of the little girl. things (and I do mean "things") become filled with meaning and life. Plants, animals, objects, all have an otherworldliness and a sense of "humanity" about them that is all their own.
My favorite section of the slight book (about 90 pp) was Summer. Where she goes down 3 different paths, and describes her feelings about the plants and settings for each one of them.
The whole little work reminds me Tove Janson’s "The Summer Book", or the books by Tarjei Vesaas, with their unique view, and feeling, for Nature.
Looking forward to reading more by Haushofer; about half her work is translated into English - and a couple of the titles are not inexpensive to purchase.
4.5 out of 5

[cass krug · Rating 3 out of 5]

read this in 2 quick sittings! these are pleasant vignettes about a 5 year old girl living with her grandparents in the austrian countryside. as always, haushofer’s nature writing is the star of the show. grief lurks beneath the surface through the innocent lens of a child who doesn’t quite understand death and war. probably my least favorite haushofer so far - enjoyable but low impact.

thank you to new directions and netgalley for the early access!!

[Kristoffer Ladegaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeg har svært ved at finde en bog af Haushofer som jeg ikke kan lide.
Denne lille sag er ligesom Sommerbogen af Tove Jansson, but make it Østrig. Så fin, sød og rar. Det er et perfekt lille blik på en sej 5-årig, der lever et fantastisk liv i de østriske bjerge.
Jeg sidder stadig og grubler over bogens uhygge, for den er der, og den er svært at regne ud, men jeg synes nærmest det er det, der løfter den fra en god bog til en utrolig god bog.

[Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

This made me a little emotional. Children dealing with grief always breaks my heart. But I loved how this was written.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella reminded me of Tove Jansson’s Summer and Winter books. It followed an orphaned girl being raised by her grandparents through a single year post WW2 in the Austrian alps. The book described quotidian events with beautiful language offering vivid descriptions of emotions and nature. She was too young as a 4yo to understand the meaning of love and grief that she learned by observing her grandparents.

[Bhaskar Thakuria · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quiet, plaintive little tale about a young girl living in her grandparent's farm in the backdrop of the Austrian alps. The girl is five years old and hence the title of the narrative that courses through each season of that single year. This is a story about the innocence of childhood drifting through the beauty and darkness of a quiet pastoral life. The descriptions of nature are evocative and in the author's nuanced prose style succeeds in uniting the natural elements with the girl's inbred consciousness. The Austrian countryside shines through the narrative as well as the sinister elements that lurk beneath the surface which are amply presented in the form of the little girl's dreams and fantasies- this is a beautiful, elegiac tale that closely juxtaposes the brighter and darker reaches of the human consciousness.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quiet little novella that illustrates the childhood experience beautifully. The innocence, fragility, fleeting nature of growing up and being a young child. Our narrator is only 5 years old, a perspective that is really challenging to write well. The story paints a small picture of postwar Austria as this place that is breathtakingly beautiful yet still tinged with grief and hurt. Our main character Marili is being cared for by her grandparents who adore her and try to create a sense of safety for her. This is a story comprised of seemingly mundane moments characterized by pure innocence with a tinge of sadness. It really reminded me a lot of Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book, which I personally loved.

[Ian, etc. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief and precious! Grief is *a dark golden abyss.* Grief is a broken clock in the attic that only a child can see. And what should they make of it? It’s a hard understanding even for the old.

Liked *The Wall;* loved this. We knew Haushofer to be economical with her language; here, in this portrait of a child exploring loss, that economy is taken to a beautiful extreme. A focused, furnaced whimsy, not as delicate as it first may appear.

[sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This felt like all the confusing and scary parts of young childhood where you are still trying to piece together how life works. What a perfect book to read in spring,,, Short and concise, doesn't have to be anything more than what it is

Also apparently hasn't been published yet? Hm

[Ashley T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quiet, slice of life of one year of a child’s life. In some ways reminded me of the Summer Book by Tove Jansson, but a little more sad.

[andré crombie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The lovely yellow fingers gently stroked her cheeks. "Being sad, Marili, will only stop when I die."
"Are you looking forward to that already?"
"Of course," the old woman said and looked slightly brighter, "but Grandfather has to die first, you know." That was understandable; yes, Grandfather had to be looked after first, what would he be without the little old woman with whom he has long whispered conversation in bed at night?
Suddenly a wave of heat rose into Marili's face.
"Grandmother, then what will happen to me?"
"You?" The narrow brown eyes gleamed. "You just have to wait a few years, and then you will come after us and we will all be together again."
"How nice," the child thought, "how nice that everything has sorted itself out so well."

Lovely, a touch foreboding, decidedly minor.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute and heartfelt

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perspective of a child

[Tanna Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 3rd Marlen Haushofer book, and I love her writing more every time. There’s so much beauty in her quiet observations of ordinary life and nature.

[Tobias Lincoln]

Reminded me of the more pleasant side of her book "The Wall" with just a tiny pinch of the scary bits... Nice book to fall asleep to

[Anisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

[Sherri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet quick novella about a five year old, Marili, who, having lost her parents, lives with her grandparents in rural Austria, most likely in the late 40's. Nothing much happens, but I really enjoyed seeing the world through her eyes - her love of animals, her take on the change of seasons, her nightmares and all. It is also about her grandparents' grief, which is portrayed very subtly because the point of view is always Marili's. I'm curious to read other Haushofer books! I came across this while browsing my library's Women in Translation Month display :-)

[mahaha]

“One day, a yellow rectangle lay on the kitchen floor.” Beautiful writing and descriptions from a child’s innocent/ignorant/naive perspective, and as a grandparents lover i liked the warm and cold of their relationship

[Ananya · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a surprise. I hadn't planned on reading it just yet, but my darling library came through (thank you, librarians who so often purchase my most obscure and random book requests - even ones that were published a mere 3 days ago).

If Heidi was a sunny romp in the Alps, The Fifth Year, its spiritual antithesis is the long snowy winter that shrouds the valley under feet of snow. Set against the backdrop of post World War II era, the book mourns the lives lost and the effect their untimely departure has on people left behind.

Despite my initial effervescence, I did not have a good time while reading The Fifth Year. Earlier this year, I read Marlen Haushofer's The Wall and was a utterly entranced by it. So naturally, I'd been trying to get my hands on her backlist (most of which hasn't been translated to English yet). The book was intriguing and I felt there was more than met the eye, and yet it didn't hold my interest. For a book that was merely 80 pages long, reading it felt like a slog. Which is quite a feat. I could feel our little protagonist Marili's desolation but I wasn't afforded enough time to bond with any of the characters. Maybe I'd had a different experience if it were a bit more fleshed out. I'm still going to read The Loft and Killing Stella though.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find it funny that the Haushofer book I’m most interested in — The Wall — is still sitting untouched in my TBR, while I’ve already read Killing Stella and now The Fifth Year. And unfortunately, this one didn’t do much for me.

It’s part fever dream, part fairytale, following a five‑year‑old girl living a secluded life with her grandparents in a pre‑technology world. Days are spent outdoors from sunup to sundown, or inside crafting paper families out of old newspapers. Time itself becomes elastic here... slowing to a crawl, then lurching forward without warning. I’m assuming that’s meant to mimic how a child experiences time, but it often left me feeling disoriented rather than immersed.

Overall, I wasn’t impressed. The narrative felt too hazy, the story too shapeless. Read at your own risk.

[kristen mcdade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a thoughtful novella. Every word written with purpose. We experience a full year of a child's life at five years old, where she is being raised in a pastoral life by her grandparents, as her mother and father have already died.
Definitely. With a dark undertone, this is beautifully written and definitely worth a read.