Stefan Zweing, author of Beware of Pity is not a writer you hear much about, now.
When I had the good fortune to hear from a relative of his --writer/teacher, asking to use my poetry in a college textbook -- I found myself revisiting Zweig.
Zweig, and his young wife, committed suicide, together, after his books were burned in Nazi Germany. Zweig was certainly a wounded idealist. But, what an extraordinary life, too, and writer. It seems he knew everyone in his time, from Freud to Rilke!
In his own right and time, Zweig was world famous himself.
I think a close/responsive reader will appreciate what a distinctive voice he has as a writer. Beware of Pity is a deserved classic, but also worth reading are Balzac, Marie Antoinette and Magellan.
Readers will also find he's something of a psychologist, and his works a kind of study of negative emotions. But his criticism, too, is a revelation, and he was really able to gaze into the souls of great thinkers and writers.
Highly recommended!
