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A review by ynbvu
The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig
3.0
Historically speaking, an insightful read that expresses cogently the spectacular rise and fall of humanity and decency from the end of the 19th century to World War II. Zweig was very ahead for his time: anti-nationalist, pro-European, pacifist, cosmopolitan. In some ways, we never truly recovered from some of the regressions he recounted (cf. closed borders and nation-states still at their peak); in others, we've progressed (or almost) to what he's dreamed of (the European Union is getting there; international law is getting stronger and stronger; war concerns fewer than ever). Zweig's also got an extensive set of most impressive acquaintances: it's astonishing to see plenty of authors I've read and enjoyed all meeting and knowing this one man! I also didn't know Romain Rolland was such a big deal.
On the other hand, unlike nearly 90% of Goodreads readers, I can't give this book a 5-star (58% of readers rated it 5!) or a 4-star, simply because I find Zweig's writing unbearable. Jesus fuck. There was one chapter when he discussed his literary success and ascribed it to his succinct writing style. Why the fuck didn't he use that style as well for these 500 pages??? Also, hyperbole is without question the worst among figures of speech, and most unfortunately, it appears to be Zweig's favorite. Either that or he's incredibly excited about an extreme number of people and things. It's always, This guy is the most intelligent spirit I've encountered, and then barely thirty pages later, The other guy is the brightest mind, blablabla. It's not pretty prose, it's not fun to read, and it undermines the persuasiveness of the writing.
On the other hand, unlike nearly 90% of Goodreads readers, I can't give this book a 5-star (58% of readers rated it 5!) or a 4-star, simply because I find Zweig's writing unbearable. Jesus fuck. There was one chapter when he discussed his literary success and ascribed it to his succinct writing style. Why the fuck didn't he use that style as well for these 500 pages??? Also, hyperbole is without question the worst among figures of speech, and most unfortunately, it appears to be Zweig's favorite. Either that or he's incredibly excited about an extreme number of people and things. It's always, This guy is the most intelligent spirit I've encountered, and then barely thirty pages later, The other guy is the brightest mind, blablabla. It's not pretty prose, it's not fun to read, and it undermines the persuasiveness of the writing.