Confusion: The Private Papers of Privy Councillor R. von D. (1927)

In the past couple of decades, Austrian writer Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) has gained a new-found readership in the English-speaking world. This is largely thanks to the impassioned advocacy of a handful of independent publishing houses. Foremost amongst these is Pushkin Press, which has published most of Zweig's work in new translations, the majority of them by award-winning translator Anthea Bell.

Zweig enjoyed great popularity during his lifetime and this led some critics to dismiss his works as facile and superficial. His novella Confusion should put such criticism to rest. The premise of the work is admittedly simple - a Privy Councillor who has dedicated his life to academia recalls the aging professor who, in his student days, kindled in him a love for learning. The (then) student’s instant and obsessive admiration for his teacher led him to take up lodgings in the same building where the professor lived with his young wife, and to assume the role of amanuensis/disciple to the older man. The novella effectively projects and dissects the “confusion of feelings” which this awkward triangular relationship gives rise to. Zweig’s interest in psychology, especially of the Freudian stamp, is evident in this novel’s insightful exploration of the mind-set of its characters and in the suppressed eroticism implied by words said and unsaid.

I have elsewhere commented on my impression of Zweig as a “nostalgic” adrift in a rapidly changing world ( https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1743472887 ) This 1927 novella is, however, very much of its time – not only in its psychological concerns, but also in its head-on approach to (what must then have been) a taboo subject. If there is a harkening back to the 19th Century, it is in its rather overblown, melodramatic language – this, however, lends authenticity to the voice of the narrator who is, after all, an academic who has devoted his life to the study of past literature.

This paperback edition of Confusion (in Anthea Bell’s brilliant translation) forms part of the attractively presented (and temptingly collectible) Pushkin Collection series. ( )

Книга об отрочестве, юношеской страсти... К профессору и обучению.
Написано очень живо, красочно, местами слишком поэтично. Как всегда тонко психологически подмечены моменты проведения и переживания.

но это все на первый взгляд))
далее сюжет развивается весьма интересно и затронутая тема очень тонка и чувствительна. На мой взгляд слишком много воды и утонченности в этом произведении. Как говориться, тема сисек не раскрыта. Слишком многое остается туманным, позволяет читателю домысливать. Уж слишком пикантная и волнующая тема для автора. Такое вот мое скромное мнение. Читать стоит. Однозначно) ( )

Découverte pour moi de S Sweig!
Assez impressionnant,! je comprends l'importance de l'écrivain, j'apprécie aussi le pouvoir, la compréhension, le courage, de l'auteur.
Il y a là des pages fortes, des personnages forts, des moments forts sur les liens tendus entre les humains, sur les tentatives de rapprochement, sur les échecs aussi.
Malgré le passage du temps je suis impressionné par la puissance des sentiments! ( )

Not Zweig's best, it feels a tad lightweight in parts (perhaps things are too obvious?). As always with the author, it's wonderfully written, though I think his best work was completed in his short stories. ( )

In this, a seemingly directionless young student is suddenly inspired by a passionate professor of Shakespeare. The relationships between the student, the professor and his young wife are complicated and they (and the reader) go through a rollercoaster of emotions. It's hard to write a review of this without a lot of spoilers .. so I'll just say that this is a great study of student/mentor, psychological challenges, cultural taboos and expectations. ( )