preview

The World Of Yesterday, By Anthea Bell

Better Essays

Stefan Zweig’s The World of Yesterday originally published in 1942 and translated into English in 2009 by Anthea Bell is a perceptive memoir that skillfully recounts the life of Zweig (a Jewish middle class male) beginning with his childhood in Vienna, Austria pre-World War I and ends right before Zweig’s suicide in 1942. During his account, Zweig provides critical commentary on various historical events that is invaluable when it comes to putting these events in the context of the everyday life of the individuals living through them. He also provides accounts of many societal structures as well as of interesting individuals that are not necessarily important in the grand scheme of things but help the reader build a more complete picture of the period. Throughout the book, Zweig maintains a cautionary as well as a didactic tone that attempts to caution the reader about how society can change so drastically and rapidly. Overall, Zweig’s book is an excellent memoir that helps put major historical events into context; however, the book also has some problems that undermine the delivery of the cautionary message of the book. This book is a memoir by Stefan Zweig that recounts his life and critically analyses some of the major world events that Zweig lived through. The setting at the beginning of the book is Vienna, Austria in the Pre-World I years, by the end of the book the setting has changed many times because the author travels throughout Europe namely to Paris, Berlin,

Get Access