Nigeyb

Stefan Zweig generally cut and cut his longer stories until arriving at the essence of the tale.  Beware of Pity is therefore an anomaly, one that forces me to conclude he should have written more novels.

Memorable characters abound in this book that actually contains three extraordinary stories, the primary one set against the lead up to World War One. The protagonist, Lieutenant Anton Hofmiller is an idealistic Austrian army officer and it is his pity, something of a double edged sword, which is at the root of this tragedy.  

Had Stefan Zweig written more novels I would have already added them to my "to read" list, as it is at least he created this one memorable work. It is well worth reading.

I'll also take this opportunity to recommend the only other book I have read by Stefan Zweig, and that is his fascinating memoir The World of Yesterday.

4/5