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On the End of the World
On the End of the World | Joseph Roth
3 posts | 1 read | 16 to read
A powerful collection written on the eve of the destruction of Europe by the Second World War, by the great Joseph Roth Having fled to Paris in January 1933, on the very day Hitler seized power in Germany, Joseph Roth wrote a series of articles in that 'hour before the end of the world', that he foresaw was coming and which would see the full horror of Hitler's barbarism, the Second World War and most crucially for Roth, the final irreversible destruction of a pan European consciousness. Incisive and ironic, the writing evokes Roth's bitterness, frustration and morbid despair at the coming annihilation of the free world while displaying his great nostalgia for the Hapsburg Empire into which he was born and his ingrained fear of nationalism in any form.
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blurb
TheEllieMo
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I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want.
This is day 143
#BooksToRead #TBRPile #TBRMountain

blurb
TheEllieMo
post image

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want.
This is day 30
#BooksToRead #TBRPile

review
batsy
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Joseph Roth was an Austrian Jewish writer best known for his novel, Radetzky March. This is a collection of short essays written during the time of the Third Reich. Roth himself escaped to Paris on the day Hitler came to power in Germany. Each one of these pieces is short, but Roth's despair at the savagery & barbarism of what was unfolding is very raw & brutal. It's pretty chilling to read his warnings in the time of Brexit & Trump. #netgalley

batsy I was interested to learn that he was friends with Stefan Zweig, since Zweig is the July author for #NYRBbookclub. Roth's time in France was a financially-strained one & Zweig was the one to bail him out with loans when he needed it. I felt some anxiety reading these essays because of Roth's evident helplessness in the face of what he called a "dark age" is compounded by being a leftist writer who was struggling to make ends meet. History repeats. 5y
Theaelizabet A very, very interesting, but hard read. Thanks for pointing out the Zweig connection. I‘m going to try and get to this one. 5y
saresmoore Wow, great review, friend! 5y
See All 9 Comments
GingerAntics This sounds interesting. Probably something we should all read. 5y
Graywacke Feel sad just reading your review. Haven‘t read Roth or Zweig. I only know a little about them and a little about how much they both foresaw. 5y
erzascarletbookgasm I don‘t know this author, interesting connection he had with Zweig. Sounds like 💔 difficult read. Nice review Suba! 5y
batsy @Theaelizabet @GingerAntics @Graywacke Yes, an important read, and I felt overwhelming sadness at Roth's helpless anger and despair. 5y
batsy @saresmoore @erzascarletbookgasm Thank you, lovelies ❤️❤️ 5y
GingerAntics That seems really logical. 5y
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