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schenkelberg's review
3.0
A great story with some legitimately brilliant bits, but other places that fall utterly flat. The ending is annoyingly predictable, and the writing is riddled with an over-abundance of flourishes, some of which hit the mark but most of which come across as unnecessary and tepid. I want to pursue more of Joseph Roth's work, but I won't be seeking it out either.
dely_dd's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed this book till nearly three quarters of it. But then the story went on too fast and the end arrived all in a sudden.
This is the story of Franz Tunda, a lieutenant of the Austrian army, that goes to fight in Russia, is captured but manages to flee. He stays for a while by an escape companion, but then decides to go back to Austria to his wife. During his homecoming he is caputred by Bolsheviks and he decides to stay with them and help fighting the revolution. After a few more years, though he had another wife in Russia, he goes back to Austria and then to Germany to his brother. Here he comes to know that his Austrian wife has remarried and lives in Paris, therefore he decides to go to France.
We could think that he loves his wife and wants to find her again, but it isn't so. Franz Tunda feels nowhere at home (from here also the title of the book) and he doesn't love anyone. He didn't feel at home in Austria or in Russia, neither in Germany or France. So he moves from one country to the other looking for something he will never find because not even him did know what he was looking for. He lived everything as it was, without passion, love, anger or pain. He just did what had to be done in the situation he was living: in Russia he had to fight so he did it; in Germany by his brother he was introduced in the elite society, and he behaved as he had to.
Surely Roth wanted to point out the identity crisis of people who fought during WWI. After the war everything was different, they were different people and surely they had also other ideals. After some years in Russia Franz Tunda felt that he had to leave, and the same happened while he was living with his brother. In Russia he had a hard and poor life, in Germany he was introduced to the elite society of his brother, but Tunda, though he was able to get used to every kind of life, felt that none of them suited him. He always felt a kind of inappropriateness. So he thought that finding his Austrian wife he could understand again where his place was and what he was looking for, but this didn't happen because he didn't know it either.
Roth also wanted to point out the vanity and emptiness of high society, and he does it very well.
Roth's prose is wonderful and I really loved his descriptions and how detailed his musings about Tunda's emotions and behavior were. Unfortunately, as said, the end arrived unexpected and it also can be considered an open ending, something I don't like a lot.
This is the story of Franz Tunda, a lieutenant of the Austrian army, that goes to fight in Russia, is captured but manages to flee. He stays for a while by an escape companion, but then decides to go back to Austria to his wife. During his homecoming he is caputred by Bolsheviks and he decides to stay with them and help fighting the revolution. After a few more years, though he had another wife in Russia, he goes back to Austria and then to Germany to his brother. Here he comes to know that his Austrian wife has remarried and lives in Paris, therefore he decides to go to France.
We could think that he loves his wife and wants to find her again, but it isn't so. Franz Tunda feels nowhere at home (from here also the title of the book) and he doesn't love anyone. He didn't feel at home in Austria or in Russia, neither in Germany or France. So he moves from one country to the other looking for something he will never find because not even him did know what he was looking for. He lived everything as it was, without passion, love, anger or pain. He just did what had to be done in the situation he was living: in Russia he had to fight so he did it; in Germany by his brother he was introduced in the elite society, and he behaved as he had to.
Surely Roth wanted to point out the identity crisis of people who fought during WWI. After the war everything was different, they were different people and surely they had also other ideals. After some years in Russia Franz Tunda felt that he had to leave, and the same happened while he was living with his brother. In Russia he had a hard and poor life, in Germany he was introduced to the elite society of his brother, but Tunda, though he was able to get used to every kind of life, felt that none of them suited him. He always felt a kind of inappropriateness. So he thought that finding his Austrian wife he could understand again where his place was and what he was looking for, but this didn't happen because he didn't know it either.
Roth also wanted to point out the vanity and emptiness of high society, and he does it very well.
Roth's prose is wonderful and I really loved his descriptions and how detailed his musings about Tunda's emotions and behavior were. Unfortunately, as said, the end arrived unexpected and it also can be considered an open ending, something I don't like a lot.
mikeyb25's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
huckapy's review against another edition
4.0
kleine fingerübung eines großen meisters. die ersten kapitel so klar, dass es mir den atem raubt. später unentschieden zwischen charakterstudie und figurenkabinett.
karinmue's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
2lax_cooper's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The f-boy of the Bolsheviks
varga's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
heschi's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Ganz wunderbar geschrieben. Es werden verschiedene interessante Theme angerissen: Was ist (europäische) Kultur, was macht Individualisierung, spielen Menschen bloß Rollen…
Der zentrale Aspekt ist aber, wie der Titel deutlich macht, die Suche Tundas nach etwas, das ihn bindet. Das schafft jedoch weder die (oft flüchtige) Liebe, noch eine (wie auch immer geartete) Kultur. Und so bleibt ihm nur eine Flucht ohne Ende. Ob darin jetzt ein Konservatismus oder eher ein Zynismus Roths gegenüber einer (vermeintlich verlorenen oder eher nie da gewesenen?) Kultur steht, ist mir nicht ganz klar.
Der zentrale Aspekt ist aber, wie der Titel deutlich macht, die Suche Tundas nach etwas, das ihn bindet. Das schafft jedoch weder die (oft flüchtige) Liebe, noch eine (wie auch immer geartete) Kultur. Und so bleibt ihm nur eine Flucht ohne Ende. Ob darin jetzt ein Konservatismus oder eher ein Zynismus Roths gegenüber einer (vermeintlich verlorenen oder eher nie da gewesenen?) Kultur steht, ist mir nicht ganz klar.
saxonnefragile's review against another edition
4.0
Joseph Roth se fait le narrateur des aventures de Franz Tunda : un officier autrichien fait prisonnier durant la Première Guerre Mondiale, qui après s'être échappé et pris le nom d'un chasseur de la taïga, participe à la guerre civile russe avant de revenir, dépaysé, en Europe occidental.
Ici, il n'y a pas vraiment d'héroïsme : Tunda se laisse porter par les événements, faisant la révolution presque inconsciemment. Ce n'est pourtant pas un idiot : au contraire, il est doté d'une certaine intelligence et d'un détachement mi cynique, mi désespéré. Comme le dit la dernière phrase du roman : "Il n'y avait personne d'aussi superflu au monde".
Ici, il n'y a pas vraiment d'héroïsme : Tunda se laisse porter par les événements, faisant la révolution presque inconsciemment. Ce n'est pourtant pas un idiot : au contraire, il est doté d'une certaine intelligence et d'un détachement mi cynique, mi désespéré. Comme le dit la dernière phrase du roman : "Il n'y avait personne d'aussi superflu au monde".