Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Chess Story by Stefan Zweig

16 reviews

meropi_p's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Antisemitism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and War

poirot's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Torture and Mental illness

Minor: Antisemitism and War

maudhee's review

inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement

jonsnowsmanbun's review

informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Antisemitism, and Kidnapping

Minor: Genocide

elisa216's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

nothing on earth exerts such pressure on the human soul as a void

4,5 stars- a harrowing tale on humanity told with an admirable brevity 
also i can't shake the feeling that i missed something in the last pages...

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture and Confinement

whysoserious's review

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I had never read Zweig before this short novella. He has never been on the top of my personal list of "must reads" but I must admit the style in which this gentleman writes is beautifully simple. There is no pretentiousness here; similar to his relative contemporary Ernest Hemingway, Zweig uses simple language that gets straight to his point without any convoluted phrases or meandering paragraphs. At around 80 pages it is no surprise that conciseness is the flavour of the day and it works perfectly.

What more can a person ask for in such a short tale? A likeable protagonist. A mysterious unknown. A cool, aloof antagonist. What I didn't expect was the depth in which the author goes with the almost secondary plotline (see spoiler tag). We get a parallel plot involving Hitler, the Gestapo and interrogation - something I wouldn't have predicted picking up this work in the local charity shop. 

Zweig is masterful at creating characters with depth in short form. I have read many a novel that doesn't achieve this level of detail in 300 pages let alone 80 or so pages with a wafer thin (but intriguing) plot. 

In sort I loved it. I read VERY slowly. The average 250 page novel takes me 3 weeks. I read this in one day. It is a testament to the ability of the author that he was able to hold my attention as much as he did as I have huge issues with attention and interest. Well done Mr Zweig! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement and Mental illness

Dr B spirals into madness as he is confined by his captors, this is a fantastic portrayal of madness in action. Subtle shifts from sanity to the loss of ones own sense of identity and reality. Marvellous!