I’m surprised that this book isn’t more famous because according to the afterword, Stefan Zweig was the most famous writer in the world (!!) during the 1930s. Reading this made me a bit thoughtful.. Which of the writers that are super popular today will stand the test of time and stay popular 50, 100 years from now?
Written and published at the outbreak of World War II, Beware of Pity is set in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the years leading up to World War I. It is told from the perspective of Lieutenant Anton Hoffmiller, a 25-year-old cavalry officer, and his friendship with wealthy local landowners, the Kekesfalvas.
I’m a bit conflicted on whether to give this book 4 or 5 stars. For now, I’ll give it 5 stars because it meets all my criteria for a 5-star read:
- Was it a page-turner? Absolutely! I couldn’t put this book down. The only reason it took me a bit longer to finish it was because I had to read it alongside a few other books for my book club.
- Did it have compelling characters? Yes! The book is mostly told in first person from the perspective of our main character, Lieutenant Hoffmiller, and we see how complex and three-dimensional he is. The supporting characters, such as Dr. Condor and Herr von Kekesfalva, are also well-developed.
- Was it well-written? It was great. I appreciated the technique Zweig used in slipping in a long backstory about one of our characters in the middle of the book. I especially loved the last few chapters where a series of coincidences, including the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, led up to a big misunderstanding and the tragic end of one of the characters.
- Most of all, was I emotionally invested in the story or characters? This is where I hesitate to give it 5 stars. I was interested in the story and the characters, but I didn’t find myself thinking about them even after finishing the book. (I’m weird, but two of my favorite books of all time, Buddenbrooks and War & Peace, made me cry and I couldn’t sleep for hours after finishing them because I kept thinking about the characters.)
I’m surprised that this book isn’t more famous because (as I found out in the afterword) Stefan Zweig was the most famous (!!) writer in the world during the 1930s. Reading this made me a bit thoughtful. Which writers that are super popular today will stand the test of time and remain popular 50 or 100 years from now?