While only a few of us were able to make it through the snow for the discussion of “The World of Yesterday”, we had a fully engaging and interesting conversation. We agreed that Stefan Zweig was an astute observer of many aspects of Europe in the first half of the twentieth century, and that he also expressed certain sentiments that were uncannily contemporary. His focus on the world of art and culture and his ability to be at home in Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and London showed his role as a citizen of the European world that seemed long gone to our present day sense of nationalism. But when he wrote that “The greatest curse brought down on us by technology is that it prevents us from escaping from the present even for a brief time” and made his observation that “at the age of 36 I had reverted to the older generation”; he expressed sentiments that are modern. Of course, his observations of World War I, the inter-war years, and the start of World War II helped us gain a clearer picture of how those years made an impact on the life of an individual. As always, it was a rewarding conversation, and we had a better understanding of Stefan Zweig and his world from the book and our shared observations.
Our next book is “
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves” by Karen Joy Fowler, available in paperback or from your library.
There is a plot twist in the book that reading reviews will reveal, so you may wish to read the book itself before checking reviews. Karen Joy Fowler is also the author of “The Jane Austen Book Club”, so that may help give you a sense of her work as an author. Our April meeting will be Wednesday, April 1, at 1:30 in the Richardson Library. We hope there will be neither weather nor flu to prevent your joining us!
Titles suggested for future consideration:
Old Filth by Jane Gardam
Archangel by Andrea Barrett
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