Guillaume Sorel

Laurent Seksik's novel 'The Last Days' follows the final months in the life of the great writer Stefan Zweig, who fled Austria when the Nazis came to power in neighbouring Germany, and who, in 1942, committed suicide along with his wife Lotte.

'The Last Days' is a tremendously moving book. It interweaves fact and fiction, makes real characters out of Zweig, his wife, and their friends, and brings the crushing reality of the Holocaust down on the reader in a most shocking way.

In short, this show more book is a masterpiece, written with empathy but a critical eye - this is no hagiography of the master writer - and with a novelistic touch all its own. show less

This is a book about the last months in the lives of Stefan Zweig and his second wife, Lotte. It is factually based but written as fiction - from a subjective point of view - that gets into the minds of both characters. It is clear, precise and cerebral. It is also unremittingly sad. The only light comes in as negative space - through the reader's sense of the magnitude of the characters mistake - their misjudgment of circumstances and the tragedy of beauty cut short.

Beautifully illustrated but I found the story somewhat weak. Perhaps it's the nature of graphic novels? I'm somewhat new to them.

A fictionalised account of Stefan Zweigs last months in exile in Brazil. Draws heavily on the known facts (perhaps too much to at times, feels likes shoehorning in everything the author knows), looking back on his life and writing career. The book is strongest when paralleling Zweig's work with aspects of his life, almost making its tragic end seem almost inevitable.

Probably of most interest to readers familiar with Zweig's work, but may also function to new readers as an overture to his show more oeuvre. show less