Stefan Zweig – The Post Office Girl – Review

 

Zweig only published one novel during his lifetime: Beware of Pity. Shortly after his suicide in 1942, an unpublished manuscript was found in a drawer in his study. The novel was in a first draft form and later picked up and hammered into a readable work. The Post Office Girl became Zweig's second novel.

At the end of WWI, during the Treaty of Versailles, the French wanted to punish Germany for reparations. In a word, this was a policy of 'overkill,' creating vast poverty and suffering across the defeated Austro-Hungarian Empire. One hears stories of young lads carrying piles of marks in wheelbarrows to purchase a single loaf of bread. Similar to all wars, the consequences of war go way beyond a bullet. The ordinary citizen suffers the most while the few grow rich, benefiting from the spoils of death. Blood money.

The Post Office Girl examines the financial ruin and massive unemployment in Austria after WWI. Christine, a 29-year-old daughter of a middle-class Austrian family, toils at a local Post Office for years after the war, earning only enough wages to barely eat and live.

At the beginning of the tale, Christine appears to accept her menial lot: living in a one-bedroom garret, taking care of her sick mother. The routine of the Post Office and taking care of her mother goes on for some years. Christine really knows nothing else apart from this little bubble of an impoverished existence. Only until a telegram arrives from her rich aunt from America.

Christine's mother is invited to meet her sister in a swank hotel in Switzerland. Because she is too sick to travel, Christine goes instead. This experience for Christine sets in motion a considerable transformation of mind as she is introduced to how the wealthy exist. Christine's aunt buys her beautiful clothes and introduces her to the wealthy guests in the hotel. Christine becomes an entirely different person, charming, happy with a newfound zest for life. This comes all crashing down when a jealous woman does some digging to discover Christine's true impoverished origins. The aunt becomes fearful that her friends will find her dubious past and sends her niece home in less than a day. Christine, of course, is devastated.

Many critics have called this novel a 'Cinderella' remake. A poor girl of diminished means attends the ball of the King. And from the stroke of midnight is returned to whence she came. Though the Post Office Girl is much deeper, complex, and nuanced than the famous fairy tale, this is the basic premise. This novel is a critical examination of Capitalism and the results of war.

When Christine returns to her old life, she becomes mean, critical and bitter. She feels now that her life is devoid of any meaning. However, this new transformation turns dark when she meets a man with similar sensibilities – cynical and feeling that the war has robbed him of his actual life. So, in fact, Christine experiences two transformations, indeed pendulum swings in the extreme.

I came to realize that those who really experience war understand its lies and diabolical consequences. Those who cheer for war or "regime change" are the ones who only understand the conflict in the abstract sense. These kinds of people are blatantly ignorant and highly dangerous, depending on their level in society.

Generally, Zweig's final novel gives us a window into Austria just after WW1. The poverty and hopelessness are visceral for the reader.

A worthwhile read.

Daphne du Maurier –The Scapegoat - Review

 

The theme of the living double or strange twin is not uncommon in literature. In Fyodor Dostoyevsky's, The Double (1846) Mr. Golyadkin believes he sees himself on a train, haunted by this manifestation. He becomes obsessed with meeting himself, chasing this figure endlessly through the streets of St Petersburg. Many have commented that this nightmarish story is ultimately about the fear of confronting one's darker nature, the terrible "other", and if viewed in totality, could well lead to death.

In The Scapegoat, du Maurier explores a similar theme, where the protagonist, John, a very English and staid history lecturer of French culture, one evening meets his exact double in the train station at Le Mans. John is bored, searching for some connection to life, a meaning to his empty existence. Jean de Gue, however, has a full life, a member of an aristocratic family, a wife, child and a century's old business and the many problems that come with so many connections and responsibilities. He's not happy with this life and wants only to escape. Both men have dinner, drink too much, and John wakes up the next morning to find his cloths and belongings vanished, and Gaston, the driver and head servant, ready to drive him (John) back to the Chateau, St Giles. John decides to play the role of Jean de Gue's scapegoat, though in a few days, finds himself inextricably involved, emotionally and otherwise, in de Gue's affairs and family.

Du Maurier is an excellent writer. John's journey into the world of his double is strangely intriguing, as he narrates his deceptions and observations, and how easily he falls into the role. No one in the family suspects his masquerade, though he comes very close to revealing himself many times. The repressed emotions and history of du Gue's family runs deep and hold numerous dark secrets. I found myself rushing through the tale to discover these secrets and what John will do next. The plot sounds outlandish on the surface, but this is psychological realism at its best, causing this reader at least, to become obsessed with how the story finally resolves itself - and it is not disappointing.

These characters certainly come from another time and another place. Jean de Gue's daughter, Marie-Noel, is a deeply religious child who experiences visions and loves her father beyond words. My thought was that if any of the family would see through John's deceptions, it would be the child. This young child, through her innocence, is the only voice of truth in the house, and her antics and precocious dialogue speaks of another time - a truly unique and memorable character.

This is a masterful piece of literature, a unique thriller that will be just as fascinating and entertaining for readers a hundred years from now.

Ethiopia: Here we go Again.

The US meddling in the African country of Ethiopia is not what the state department says it is. Even after 50 years of false flags and illegal wars from Vietnam to Iraq and Syria, including numerous dirty wars in South America, anyone over the age of 25 and an average IQ should realize that US wars overseas have nothing to do with humanitarian actions or "saving democracy."War is purely an economic venture for international corporations to make a profit. The millions killed over the last 20 years had nothing to do with any threat to the US or their kiss arse allies. The excuse for invading Iraq was based on an elaborate lie in a concerted effort with the mainstream media and governments to declare war for Iraq's resources, primarily their oil.

When the UK and US were interested in Syria, in the early 2000s, many democratic and republican politicians met with Assad to "get them on our side." Assad wouldn't allow a particular oil pipeline from going through his country. This pipeline would close Russia off from their main profits in the area. At first, prominent Assad politicians and military personal were offered hefty bribes to turn against the Assad government. This didn't work. A civil war was instigated, and anyone who has been paying attention knows the rest of the story to the present time. I wish people would wake up and smell the corporate war crimes and sociopathic empires' desire for global hegemony.

The US ventures in Latin American countries to topple socialist governments or governments who simply want economic autonomy are too many to list. The last coup in Bolivia by a US-supported right-wing government is a recent example. The amount of civilian and indigenous deaths from the coup are countless. This has recently changed since a people's government has been elected. But why the US interest in Bolivia? Their natural resource is Lithium. And Lithium is valuable for cell phone technology and electric cars.

During the Trump administration, all the hoopla surrounding Venezuela has nothing to do with installing true democracy in the country. Indeed, not surprising, Venezuela is the wealthiest country on the planet in natural oil reserves. So naturally, US oil corporations desire that affluent resource. So, the US and its allies spread propaganda about its current government and attempts to install their own puppet leader.

The current propaganda from the State Department pushed through by corporate media regarding Ethiopia is really laughable if it wasn't so dangerous. The real reason for the US interference is China has an excellent relationship with Ethiopia.

You can look it up, but the main reason for the US sticking their nose into Ethiopia's business, a country that no one talks about in the west, is what's called the 'Belt and Road Initiative. So again, this is totally about owning another country's resources. And nothing to do with "terror" or "saving democracy." 

I wish the masses would wake up to the absolute lies when it comes to US wars overseas. War has always been about profit, and anything else you're told is rubbish.

George Prochnik – The Impossible Exile – Review

 

The international best-selling author Stefan Zweig, during the height of his literary fame in 1942, while living in exile in Brazil, made a suicide pact with his young wife and secretary, Lotte. The household staff discovered Zweig and his wife in bed. He was wearing crumpled slacks and a dress shirt and necktie. Lotte was wearing a Kimono, lying on her side, her face burrowed in the shoulder of her husband. Because Lotte's body was still warm, it was determined that she had taken the poison much later than her husband. One can only speculate what was going through the young woman's mind. 

I came across the writings of Stefan Zweig around 2012. After his death, Zweig's writings almost went into obscurity. That said, over the last 20 years, his work has experienced a new resurgence in countries all across the globe. My introduction was a collection of short stories lent to me by a friend. Later I read, Beware of Pity and The World of Yesterday, his seminal autobiography that, for me, is a brilliant piece of history and literature.

Prochnik's biography of Zweig is an obvious labor of love. As the title suggests, the central theme is exile, immigration, and the notion of statelessness. An Austrian citizen, Zweig was forced into exile because of the Nazi occupation of his country. Prochnik's father was also an Austrian exile during this time, escaping into the winter's night, leaving all his property with only those things he could hold on his person. As a result, Prochnik's father immigrated to the United States. Zweig first went to England and was eventually naturalized as a British citizen. He then traveled to New York for a stint of time, ending up in Brazil.

The millions of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi oppression have been well documented. The feeling of "displacement" is an actual condition. Zweig would help his fellow emigres with money and shelter. He was born into a wealthy family and became rich in his own right from his extensive book sales. That position of 'statelessness" and displacement was indeed a contributing factor to his self-destruction. Prochnik writes:

In truth, the overriding motive for his suicide was his sense that he was already doing so, against his will – leading, again in Keats's phrase, a posthumous existence. "My inner crises consists in that I am not able to identify myself with me of my passport, the self-exile..." (P.334)

When the Nazis began their reign of terror, expanding their armies across Europe, Zweig was not only troubled spiritually from his exile, but I sensed a natural fear of the Nazis themselves. He would always ask someone in whatever country he was visiting or living in if they thought the Nazis would occupy that country. When requesting a laid-back Brit, the response was "no, of course not." In the last year of his life, he asked a cafe owner in the Brazilian town he was living in if the Nazis would invade South America, and the response was, "Yes, they most likely will." The writer was noticeably disturbed.

Stefan Zweig brushed shoulders with the artistic and intellectual class before and after WWI. Einstein, Freud, Mahler, Klimt, Schnitzel, Roth and Robert Musil. Sigmund Freud escaped Vienna to England in the late '30s as well as Zweig. When Freud died in 1939, Zweig spoke at the famous doctor's funeral. Pre-WWI -WWII Vienna is an exciting time. Described by some as an artistic, intellectual pressure cooker of ideas. However, most of the creative and intellectual culture left Vienna with the arrival of the Nazi regime.

Prochnik's biography is not your typical cradle to the grave narration. Instead, the focus is describing the cultural and literary milieu with elegant prose during Zweig's exciting life.

Zweig is most known for his novellas and short stories. However, he had a prolific outpouring of biographical studies – books and essays on Mahler, Goethe, Dostoevsky, Freud, Nietzsche, and Charles Dickens. Zweig was a champion of European culture and humanist values. He also, like Einstein, was extremely anti-war.

The Impossible Exile- Stefan Zweig at the End of the World was a pleasure to read.

Jeffrey Archer - A Matter of Honor - Review

This novel is a polished work.

Despite the novel written during an "unsteady" time in international politics, when "Spy" stories, at least in the US, were at their peak, and the "Stasi" in East Berlin were coming up with diabolical methods to turn the world into a communist utopia, creating a people, apathetic cyber- punks, disinterested in the physical world - Archer remained focused, writing a tale of honesty, a Bull's Eye, and showing strains of genius. This novel as a "genre" should stand proud with the best Ludlum, Carrier, etc. Discovered, though, Archer's work crosses many genres; his short stories, having read, should make my case.

Captain Adam Scott is young, handsome, with thick black hair and blue eyes, charming, and brought up to be a proper English gentleman. The Captain's father, Colonel Gerald Scott, has been shamed. Rumor amongst the lads tells us he has collaborated with the enemy, a guard at Nuremberg at the war's end. The novel begins at the Old man's death, the lawyer reading his Will, giving an envelope to Adam, the only son, a document that could change the world. What is in this letter?

In this genre, the antagonist is down-right evil, a worthy adversary, and a protagonist that realizes he has a worthy opponent. A KGB operative, Romanov, a child from a long line of royalty, is a true psychopath, and for many, a real "bad dude." A worthy opponent for the young man, Captain Adam Scott, a challenge for not only the measure of one's strength and smarts but a matter of honor.

 

There is no Left in Modern Politics

 

The True Left in modern-day western politics has all but disappeared. Similar to a first-year post-modernism student, they take the bits that sound good a discard the rest. Politics is "relative" they would offer, and all institutions, laws, and philosophies are hierarchical; a grand narrative to keep our minds closed to ensure we follow the rules and be good "citizens." Everything is perspective, and "we all have our own truths." Then, of course, there are "alternative truths" and objective truth, which is measured science, no longer exists and is part of the past. We claim to care about our fellow humans and support American imperialism, foreign wars, and continue to vote for corporate-run politicians. So what happened to the Left?

There's one sure-fire way to spot a faux socialist: they all support and promote imperialist propaganda. There's also a sure-fire way to spot those who spread propaganda and misinformation about socialism: they'll compare it to Stalinist Russia. They'll call you a supporter of right-wing dictatorships. They will call socialism Godless and the "word" of the devil. All this misinformation either comes from a deep place of ignorance and brainwashing or intentional slandering to promote a right-wing, anti-worker agenda.

The litmus test is simple: they are not left-wing if one calls themselves a socialist and promotes establishment narratives, including post-colonialism and regime change operations.

I find it exhausting and disgusting to see self-proclaimed "leftists" promote regime change and war with other countries when said countries pose zero threat. Yet, for some reason, these people feel morally superior to such an extent that the U.S. and their allies must intervene and bomb the place back to democracy.

In the United States, the democratic party to all outside the country appears to be the Right-wing. There's no universal healthcare; higher education is designed only for the wealthy elites. American tax dollars mainly go towards the "defense budget." Billions of $ go to the military, and hardly anyone blinks an eye. This is while basic jobs are paid 1950's level minimum wage, and solid manufacturing jobs have been outsourced overseas. This is not to mention a failing infrastructure, roads, and bridges crumbling before our eyes.

Capitalism is dead. There is only so much rhetorical propaganda you can throw at the people before they start to realize they're getting royally screwed.

People have forgotten that socialism is a political system where the working class owns the means of production. Workers understand that their labor is for the benefit of everyone. Taxes go to universal healthcare, free education, infrastructure, and an inexpensive transport system. The worker can own their own homes and can look forward to a stress-free retirement. Currently, under our capitalist neoliberal system, none of this is possible because the few have stolen all the means of production and have bled the working class to finance their endless wars.

To see the so-called Left in the U.S. absolutely destroyed in the last election was disheartening. To see Justice democrats such as "the squad" turn their backs on their respective constituents goes beyond a simple betrayal. The saddest is to see those people who voted this faux left into power and continue to support and protect them from criticism is almost hard to believe. The people have been so propagandized that progressive policies (that never eventuate) appear Left to them when they are far-right issues in reality.

During the '70s and '80s, Australia was under a working democratic socialist government. The attack on socialism began in the '70s. We have been under a right-wing liberal government for the last 30 years. Our living standards have fallen as a result.

Since the outbreak of Covid 19, my home state of Victoria has experienced the harshest lock-downs on the entire planet. Authoritarian control is blatant. We see more cuts to social services and education while the government makes trillion-dollar deals with weapon manufactures to build nuclear subs.

Socialism is not the devil in disguise. But, of course, it is portrayed that way by greedy business interests and fascist governments to sway you from a system that supports the ordinary worker and the overall betterment of society.

There is no genuine Left in our modern political landscape.

This must change.

Stefan Zweig – Chess – Review

 

Chess is Stefan Zweig's last published novella. After an imposed exile in Brazil in 1941, he and his young wife committed suicide. Many have speculated why the great writer and his wife self-destructed in bed in their apartment in Buenos Aires on that fateful day. When you read Zweig's acclaimed autobiography, The World of Yesterday, the writer's concerns about the Nazis invasion and occupation of his beloved Austria, the hardships in the wake of WWI, and the rise of fascism in Europe, in exile and away from his countrymen, I believe were all contributing factors to the double suicide. It is said that Zweig wrote the last page of his autobiography on the day of his death. Chess became an international bestseller.

Chess begins on a cruise ship headed to South America. Our narrator, hinting he's a publisher of sorts, is told by his companion that the world's chess champion is on board. Mirko Czentovic is an odd one. The son of a fisherman who becomes orphaned after his father's boat is crushed by a freight ship, the local priest takes him in and attempts to educate the boy. Czentovic is illiterate and remains so even after years of trying to teach him. Generally, he's apathetic and will do nothing of his own accord unless asked to do so. The priest is an avid chess player, and Mirko sits quietly observing the game. Merely from observation, he learns the game and becomes a master. I believe it was Wittgenstein who defined genius as the mind's laser focus on a single object. Mirko is lacking in everything else but chess. While reading about Czentovic, the condition of Autism came to mind.

Dr. B is undoubtedly the most interesting character in the tale. Connected to the Austrian elite, his family is well recognized. Dr. B's law firm takes care of the Royal families financial affairs. The Nazis occupied Austria, and he his taken prisoner and interrogated for many months. The man is not tortured in the physical sense but is isolated in a hotel room with only a bed, washbasin, wallpaper, and a single-window facing a wall. Isolation is a proven form of torture designed to break the prisoner's mind. The doctor describes it like,

...you lived like a diver under a glass dome in the black ocean of this silence, and even worse, like a diver who already guesses that the cable connecting him to the world outside has broken and he will never be pulled up from those soundless depths. (P.41)

B. manages to steal a book that describes particular chess games of the world's masters. There is not an introduction or explanation, just the numbered moves of a specific match. He describes the book as 'algebra without the key.' Taking his mind off the "abyss," he plays each game in his head. The matches become three-dimensional in his mind. This mental exercise keeps the man sane until he moves away from the structured games, and he now must play himself. B's mind is split into two: White and Black, and these mental gymnastics become obsessive and pathological. Later he breaks down and is moved to the hospital.

Dr. B is on the cruise ship heading to South America. He is asked to play the grandmaster. The only problem is that Dr. B has never physically played the game on an actual chessboard or played a natural person. The result of the match is disturbing.

This novella is a parable of what is a true genius and the notion of theory and practice. Dr. B understands the game in his mind but has never practiced the game in the physical sense. This is education 101. For example, a training teacher sits in the classroom listening to lectures and reading the literature. But until they stand in front of a school, applying the theory into practice, they will never know if they can do the job.

Chess is a long short story. And for me, at least, once again revealing that Stefan Zweig is a brilliant writer.

Harlan Coben – Run Away – Review

Many writers have called Harlan Coben the 'master of the twist' in the modern novel thriller. After reading Run Away, this description of his storytelling is well deserved. In all honesty, it has been years since beginning a novel in the late afternoon, breaking only for meals and water, and reading late into the following day. This novel pulls you into its world like a potent drug or an ominous black hole. Finally, after all the loose ends were tied up, sleep came easy, listening to the morning birds sing outside my window. "Entertaining" is the appropriate descriptor for this tale.

Most Netflix viewers are aware that a few of Coben's novels have been adapted to film. The most notable of these adaptations is Safe and The Stranger. Although I haven't had the opportunity to read the books, I've seen the TV shows respectively and was impressed by the stories, including their twist and turns and surprising endings. Coben is a gifted storyteller.

Run Away begins with the protagonist, Simon Greene, sitting on a park bench in Central Park. He observes the various representatives of humanity and is specifically interested in the buskers playing for coins along the path. Simon is looking for his drug-addict daughter, who has been missing for some time. Bribing a few of the street dwellers, he's told that his daughter plays guitar on certain days of the week on this spot. He recognizes her and begins chasing her. Finally, he reaches her, grabbing hold, causing many passersby to take notice. From the outside, he could be a pervert harasser. Suddenly a dirty drug addict steps between them. It turns out to be the older boyfriend who got her on the stuff in the first place. Out of rage and years of suppressed anger, Simon lashes out and punches the young man. Several people in the vicinity tackle Simon to the ground, punching and kicking him. Paige, his run-away daughter, gets away, and he's arrested. As it is the 21^st century, the entire scene was filmed, and the video went viral. "Rich man assaults the homeless." Simon needs a lawyer.

The story is about Simon Greene searching for his daughter. Indeed, a simple premise enough, but where the story goes is a labyrinth of well-sketched characters and a series of coincidences that leads our protagonist to the drug-addled portion of the big city, dealers and hired killers.

The climax of the story is quite dramatic.

But when you believe all the dots are connected, and the mystery is solved, a new twist is presented in the last six pages! Something the reader will never see coming.

Time is a precious commodity these days, but if you have a little time, Coben's Run Away should be well worth your time. 

Living in the Mandate Camps (Part 3 of 3)

 

A week passed without any opportunity to steal one of the guards' mobile phones. My target was the skinny guard with an oversized uniform. (Ichabod Crane in 3D). After returning from the coal mines every afternoon, the twerp could be seen smoking in the back of the administration building. My Irish friend, Sean, was an accomplished pick-pocket, so it was only a matter of distracting the little dude for Sean to swipe it. We needed another plan, for this one was just too risky. 

Over the week, more busloads of the unvaccinated arrived at the camp. I observed that most were immigrants and indigenous people and very few Caucasians. I talked with one gentleman who had come from Syria to Australia with his family in 2014. Since that time, he had been naturalized, including his entire family. Ahmed had been a medical doctor in Damascus. Over the years, he retrained at the University of Melbourne in medical school and received his license to practice medicine in Australia in 2018. When Covid 19 hit, he was not convinced that the vaccine was needed to stop the spread of the virus. Like many of us, he read the peer-reviewed studies to discover the vaccine did not prevent one from getting sick or giving it to others. Of course, the elderly were more vulnerable; thus, the vaccine made sense. Ahmed's family, including himself, were all relatively young and healthy. After the lockdowns, he was told that he would lose his medical practice if he didn't take the jab. Ahmed's daughters were also kicked out of school. Two months after his medical practice was shut down, the police crashed through his front door dressed in helmets and bulletproof vests. He and his entire family were thrown to the ground and handcuffed. After spending 6 months in a local detention center, they were shipped to the camps.

The government seemed to us to be targeting people of color. But, interestingly, Sean, the Irishman, and I were the only white boys in the facility.

This didn't seem right, but this entire situation was idiotic, where there felt like an unknown nefarious agenda behind the mandate camps. The science did not match the actions of the government. So what the hell are we really doing here?

One thing was clear: the government and their corporate overlords were getting free labor in the coal mines. So, yes, essentially, we're slaves.

One night Sean woke me out of deep sleep and showed me a phone he had stolen. Then, like a thief in the night, he sneaked into the guards' quarters and managed to obtain a phone.

"C'mon, mate. It will be sunrise soon, so we have to get out of here now!"

My bag was already packed. We headed to the north end of the wall. We got there without being seen. I gave Sean a boost, and he barely reached the top of the wall. He reached down and pulled me to the top without too much effort. We shimmied under the bob wire and fell to the ground running.

A few minutes later, a siren could be heard behind us. We were in an open space in the desert. There was no place to hide. We just continued to run. Looking back, two jeeps were barrelling towards us with clouds of sand billowing behind them. Suddenly through a loudspeaker:

"Stop, or we'll shoot!"

I remember laughing at the idea of the guards shooting us because we were not criminals.

I heard a shot ring out. Sean fell face down into the sand. Because the sun was appearing, I saw blood flowing and spreading on his back from the gunshot wound.

"Sean, Sean!" I knelt beside him, feeling for any pulse in his neck. My friend was dead.

I was put in a hot box in the ground for three days with little water as punishment for attempting to escape.

Ironically, only a month later, a contingent of the Australian army rolled into the camps. We were told that the vaccine, although adequate for the elderly and vulnerable from getting really sick, the world had come to understand that we now must live with the disease. The vaccine made no difference for the majority of the population. And without so much of an apology from the government, we were set free in our respective cities.

What were the world's governments thinking, ignoring the science and pushing untested vaccines upon the population? Adding insult to injury, sending us to "mandate camps" because we were deemed the "unwashed" like lepers in the 14^th century. It was an emotional affair when I was united with my family for the first time. Though jabbed twice with a booster, I learned that my wife's brother died of Covid 19 due to complications from a previously undiagnosed condition. This was very sad.

This experience has broken my spirit. It's currently mandatory to have Digital Identification on our phones. All our financial transactions, including our working wages, are done through this app. If we want to go on holiday, we have to go through the app. We buy our groceries and clothes through the app. All healthcare must go through our digital ID. So the authorities know where we are on the planet at any given time. Our independence is gone.

I don't care anymore. My spirit is broken. I never want to go through this shit again.

Most of all, I miss my friend.