Beware of Pity (New York Review Classics) Paperback – June 20, 2006

Although mostly unheard of now, Stefan Zweig was a very popular writer of his time (1920's and 30's) who attained fame and notoriety akin to that bestowed upon those enterprising young people today that exploit film or music. Zweig was at one point described as the most widely translated author in the world. As a friend and admirer of Sigmund Freud, a fellow Viennese, Zweig was persuaded of the fundamental irrationalism of the human mind after witnessing two world wars. It was to a large extent the fixation on the endeavors of the mind that enticed Zweig to write with that theme as the core element in his work, especially the subject of obsession. In "Beware of Pity" the whole aspect of a determined love forced unwontedly upon another as the reciprocal of a mistake for pity is thoroughly and remarkably examined. It is also suspected that Zweig was writing about his own deep emotional conflictions with the subject, something that would lead to his undoing at the hand of an overdose of barbiturates ending his career and life.The writing style is variously complex as the early methodology of construction produced lengthy and descriptive verse. It is however, the style of writing that is at once appreciated by the reader as something that draws him to a comfortable presence with the scenes and characters as they develop. There is also a goodly number of vocabulary words used that, at least for me, were foreign members. I was able to deduce their meaning for the most part, but I still found myself with the ever present dictionary to settle my uncertainty. As an example, the term "mufti" was completely lost to me as it pertained to the civilian dress of the military when off duty; and there were other such words in the same realm. Zweig begins the narrative in his own words explaining that he is going to relate a story as told to him exactly; then seamlessly moves the tale to the first person of one Lieutenant Anton Hofmiller.The story opens in 1913 with Anton Hofmiller assigned to a small garrison town on the Hungarian frontier. The twenty five year old Hofmiller is a second lieutenant in a cavalry unit there. Having spent most of his young adult life in a military academy amongst males like himself, young Hofmiller is far from worldly mature for his age. By chance of circumstances, Lieutenant Hofmiller finds himself invited to a dinner party at the home of a rich industrialist, one Herr Lajos von Kekesfalva. Hofmiller is at once enamored with the excess to which riches have produced such a lavish affair. Enjoying himself to a far greater extent than he imagined, he enjoins himself in the revelry by dancing with the host's daughter Ilona; she finding a distinguished dancer in young Hofmiller. About to leave the festivities, the Lieutenant remembers that his host also has a young daughter of seventeen or eighteen years old and that he should ask her to dance. Upon finding the daughter, Edith, who he sees as frail-looking with gray eyes, he bows to her and asks to have this dance. The Lieutenant was wholly unprepared for the reaction he received from the daughter and is roundly humiliated; only subsequently to recognize his incredible gaffe of having asked a crippled girl to dance does he slink silently away. Thoroughly nonplussed by his insensitivity, Lieutenant Hofmiller expends nearly the whole remaining amount of his monthly pay on roses to be delivered to the girl as amends for his social error. Edith receives the roses acknowledging the injustice paid to Hofmiller for his ignorance of her condition and invites the young Lieutenant to visit her. This then begins a relationship born of circumstances that will be exploited and misunderstood by both Hofmiller and Edith from that day forth until the tragic end.I greatly enjoyed reading this novel. Although at first glance the theme seemed somewhat uninteresting, it was quite the opposite. The personal travails of the characters as Zweig presented them were indeed compelling as were the psychosis of their actions and the futility of the plight of the two young people. Edith's character, a portrait of one impossible to love, yet demanding to be loved is a captivating study as is Hofmiller's unmistakable revulsion of being loved against his will. In the course of the novel, Edith's narcissism progresses with the eerie cadence of the tap-tap, tap-tap of her crutches and the Lieutenant finds himself reveling in providing his emotional services, always convinced that it is born of pity.I highly recommend this novel be added to your reading list and rate it "Memorable".

The greatness of this book can best be summarized by the fact that I knew how this book was going to end forty pages into it, but it was nonetheless a gripping narrative ----- I liken it to Anna Karenina, but 1/3 the length.The plot starts as tragicomedy - a simple social blunder by Subaltern Toni Hofmiller gradually grows to something that inextricably links him to the Kevesfalva family and their paraplegic daughter, Edith. Initially motivated by the desire to rectify his embarrassment, Hofmiller allows himself to be cast as healer and ultimate savior to the hopelessly debilitated girl. Both Edith's father, the Baron, and her physician, the enigmatic Dr. Condor, see Hofmiller as the girl's last hope.Gradually, it occurs to Hofmiller that he might actually love Edith. This revelation comes to him through the blind wife of Dr. Condor, but by then Hofmiller has transferred to another unit just as the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand occurs. Predictably, he learns of Edith's suicide shortly after the fact, an event that had been foreshadowed early and often throughout the book.Hofmiller's subsequent attainment of hero status based on his feats in the First World War is diminished by his own acknowledgement that his "heroism" was based on not caring about his own life in the wake of Edith's death.While pity and misguided compassion are the overriding themes of the book, conformity and Hofmiller's fear of his comrades derision over his relationship with the crippled Edith play equally important roles leading to the ultimate tragedy.

Although my master’s degree is in Holocaust/Exile literature and Zweig is well-known to me, I am, some 25 years later, reading and understanding him in a whole new light. I have not been moved by such a writer in a very long time. I cannot recommend Stefan Zweig’s writings enough. His insight into the human psyche and gift storytelling is remarkable and touches the depths of one’s soul. Truly one of the greatest writers of all time.

Great book. Captivating!

I'll preface my review by saying that I'm not an avid reader. Most of my time reading is spent on source books.After watching the Grand Budapest again and again, I finally noticed that the movie was loosely based off the writings of Zweig. I loved the movie, especially the way they communicated with each other, so I thought I'd give it a shot.While the writing is very similar in style to the movie, the charm of the book wore off quickly when I realized that the author used a bounty of vocabulary to say very little.I am not a fan of how quickly the story concludes itself after taking all but the last few pages to get there.While I do think it's very well written, I just didn't find it very engaging.

Set during the Austrian Hungarian Empire this book is a marvellous read. Unputdownable at times. Very well written and absorbing and tells a lot about being a cavalry officer as well as the psychological stress of pity.