Group Read, June 2014: The Radetsky March

Here is the thread for our Group Read of Joseph Roth's The Radetsky March. Looking forward to the discussion.

Okay I got mine have already started and not too bad!!!!

I'm going to be joining mid-month on this one. I am leaving for a Netherlandish Culture conference tomorrow and felt that I should be reading a Dutch novel for the occasion. But I'll join on RM after that.

I've started and just finished the first part. A beautiful portrait of three generations Von Trottas. No idea how the story will continue, but enjoying it so far.

>3 annamorphic: What Dutch novel will you be reading?

I had my mother pick this book up for me from my hometown library just today, but I am currently in the midst of finals and won't be home until the 12th... That said, I'll probably start it as soon as I get home! The worst thing about college for me has been no time to read (anything other than texts, that is)!

#4, I read & loved The Forbidden Kingdom by Slauerhoff -- what a cool book! Review on my thread. It was actually a pretty quick read & I'm about to embark on The Radetsky March.

Well, I finished it and it didn't do too much for me. Which surprises me, because I liked the theme, the style of writing and the character of (especially) the father. Still, after finishing it, I thought: So?

Hmm. Tell me if and where I went wrong!

This is such a sad book. Although it's supposedly about the decline of a family/empire, it feels more like it's about isolation. Nobody has any meaningful connection to another human being or if they do, they destroy it.

Yes this is a very sad book in deed. One man just happen to be at the right place at the right time and see what was going to happen. And the 2 following generation try to live up to that image and cant.

I finally finished the book last night. I really appreciated the writing itself... much more than the actual story.

I think the narration's detached nature left me a little cold. I had a hard time keeping interest as a result.

But the detached writer so perfectly matches the characters. Nobody experiences a fulfilling connection to another human being -- at least not as of the halfway mark were I am and I don't imagine it's going to get better.

I'm about two thirds through and agree with much of what others have said. The writing is nice and clear, and evokes an old monarchy relying on pomp and colourful parades while all individuals are filled with dissolution. The cover photo on the Penguin Classics edition is well chosen - a colourful but neglected military drum stuck in a dark hole. Not sure about commentary I've read that puts Roth up there with Joyce, Mann et al as a giant of twentieth century literature - but maybe that's why I'm enjoying the read!

Just finished this morning and actually I thought it was wonderful and I wish I could just go back and reread the whole thing. Starting with chapter 15, where we get to "know" the Emperor, it suddenly caught on for me. Some of the middle really was slow, like his affair with the woman in Vienna; but the final section was so moving. And the bombshell in the middle of the party -- not to give a spoiler but I should have seen it coming and didn't.

One of the best books I've read this year; thanks to whomever nominated it the first time for a group read, because I had never heard of it before then!

I've just finished the first part and I'm really feeling like much of this is going over the top of my head. I am however enjoying it.

SPOILERS:

I know it doesn't really matter, but what does everyone think about whether or not Eva and Carl Joseph really were involved? Personally I didn't think so until the scene were Carl Joseph called on her and now I'm convinced they were.

I thought he wasn't. Now you make me wonder.

I had to give up 2/3 through when I ran out of renewals at the library. I'm not sure I could say I was enjoying the book exactly, but I didn't hate it. I kept forgetting about it whenever I put it down - it just didn't hold my interest. I'm worried, though, that I missed a climax that would have made a 300-page build-up worthwhile.