The World of Yesterday
Back of the Book
By the author who inspired Wes Anderson’s film, The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Written as both a recollection of the past and a warning for future generations, The World of Yesterday recalls the golden age of literary Vienna—its seeming permanence, its promise, and its devastating fall.
Surrounded by the leading literary lights of the epoch, Stefan Zweig draws a vivid and intimate account of his life and travels through Vienna, Paris, Berlin, and London, touching on the very heart of European culture. His passionate, evocative prose paints a stunning portrait of an era that danced brilliantly on the edge of extinction.
This new translation by award-winning Anthea Bell captures the spirit of Zweig’s writing in arguably his most revealing work.
Why You Should Read It
Zweig’s memoir of his time in Vienna between the two world wars is a triumph in its reflection of its author’s world - as history took place and consumed the author’s life, and the author’s intellectual life. Zweig’s extraordinary sensitivity and foresight make for an experience similar to Sebald’s Rings of Saturn. At times disorienting and at times impressively, horrifyingly lucid, Zweig perceives the dire realities of Hitler’s rise to power and its consequences on the psyche of the creative.
Memorable Passage
We who have been hunted through the rapids of life, torn from our former roots, always driven to the end and obliged to begin again, victims and yet also the willing servants of unknown mysterious powers, we for whom comfort has become an old legend and security, a childish dream, have felt tension from pole to pole of our being, the terror of something always new in every fibre. Every hour of our years was linked to the fate of the world. In sorrow and in joy we have lived through time and history far beyond our own small lives, while they knew nothing beyond themselves. Every one of us, therefore, even the least of the human race, knows a thousand times more about reality today than the wisest of our forebears. But nothing was given to us freely; we paid the price in full.
About the Author
Stefan Zweig (1881–1942) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, and biographer whose literary contributions during the early 20th century have earned him international acclaim. Born into a world undergoing profound social and political changes, Zweig's works, such as The World of Yesterday and Chess Story, encapsulate the tumultuous era in which he lived. Zweig's writing, marked by its psychological depth and humanistic perspective, explores themes of identity, exile, and the impact of war on the individual psyche. A prolific author, Zweig's influence extended beyond his native Austria, and he became one of the most widely read and translated writers of his time. Driven into exile by the rise of Nazism, Zweig's tragic end in Brazil adds a poignant layer to his legacy. He is worth knowing for his profound understanding of the human condition, his literary craftsmanship, and his role as a cultural ambassador whose work continues to resonate globally, transcending the boundaries of time and place.
Recommended By