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The Emperor's Tomb
The Emperor's Tomb is a nostalgic, haunting elegy for the end of youth and the last days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A continuation of the saga of the von Trotta family from The Radetzky March, it is both a powerful and moving look at a decaying society and its journey through the War and its devastating aftermath, and the story of the erosion of one man's desperate fa...more
Paperback, 157 pages
Published
September 1st 2002
by Overlook TP
(first published 1938)
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Ein literarisches Schmankerl, das vor Ausbruch des ersten Weltkrieges in Wien eine dekadente überhebliche, leichtfertige Adelsschicht beschreibt, die nichts kann und zu nichts nütze ist, außer vielleicht für den Krieg. Nach der "glücklichen" Heimkehr aus einem Weltkrieg, der für die adeligen Offiziere eigentlich gar nicht so schlimm war, kommen der junge Baron und seine Freunde überhaupt nicht mehr mit der veränderten Welt zurecht, sie jammern und philosophieren aber nicht so viel wie diese russ...more
Sicuramente questo genere di libri non è il mio forte. La lettura di questo libro nasce da un errore: il titolo mi ha fatto immaginare un giallo, alla Ellis Peters. Quando mi sono resa conto che mi ero sbagliata era tardi. Tanto valeva finire di leggerlo. In realtà non è che mi sia fatta un parere negativo, tutt’altro, solo non me ne sono fatta nessuno. Io non sono un’amante di libri sulla guerra, o in odore di, ma questo fortunatamente non è stato un problema per la mia sconsiderata, vergognosa...more
This novel about World War I destroying a Austrian family and a way of life reminded me of another book I read last year about the same topic, THE HARE WITH AMBER EYES. The difference is that HARE, non-fiction, is like looking at the destruction of a way of life through a telescope, covering the decline of five generations of of the Ephrussi family , one of the richest Jewish families in Austria. On the other hand, THE EMPEROR’S TOMB is a magnifying glass, a novel that looks at one family’s coll...more
Un libro che racconta il crollo di un mondo, l'Impero AustroUngarico, attraverso le vicende di Francesco Ferdinando Trotta, rampolla di una famiglia di origine slovena di recente nobiltà (la cui origine è raccontata ne "La marcia di Radetzky").
Anche se la storia non è semplicissima, nè particolarmente appassionante, il libro si può leggere abbastanza agevolmente essendo diviso in capitoletti piuttosto brevi (in alcuni casi, l'incipit di un capitolo riprende la frase finale del precendente, ma c...more
Anche se la storia non è semplicissima, nè particolarmente appassionante, il libro si può leggere abbastanza agevolmente essendo diviso in capitoletti piuttosto brevi (in alcuni casi, l'incipit di un capitolo riprende la frase finale del precendente, ma c...more
Immaginatevi il sole che, come tutte le sere, inizia il suo tramonto. Questa volta, però, invece di tuffarsi veloce e di lasciare spazio alla notte, indugia sulla linea d’orizzonte, restando a godersi lo spettacolo dello stravolgimento del mondo. Restando in bilico su una collina, o appoggiato sul mare, per accumulare energia; un’energia che gli sarà necessaria, visto che quando tornerà ad albeggiare, dovrà illuminare un mondo completamente diverso.
L’atmosfera che si respira in questo romanzo è...more
L’atmosfera che si respira in questo romanzo è...more
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“Frequentavo l’allegra, anzi sfrenata compagnia di giovani aristocratici (…). Ne condividevo la scettica leggerezza, la malinconica presunzione, la colpevole ignavia, l’arrogante dissipazione, tutti i sintomi della rovina, di cui ancora non intuivamo l’approssimarsi.”
Francesco Ferdinando Trotta, così chiamato in onore dell'allora erede al trono dell'impero austro-ungarico, racconta la sua storia, che passa attraverso lo smembramento della sua nazione, la Prima Guerra Mondiale e la lenta avanzata...more
Francesco Ferdinando Trotta, così chiamato in onore dell'allora erede al trono dell'impero austro-ungarico, racconta la sua storia, che passa attraverso lo smembramento della sua nazione, la Prima Guerra Mondiale e la lenta avanzata...more
Prachtig boek over het ineenstorten van de dubbelmonarchie (vandaar de centrale rol van de Kapucijner Crypte), de teloorgang van een rijk en het einde van een tijdperk. Roth toont zich een meester in het weergeven van de menselijke psyche en de spanningen in menselijke relaties. Vanuit theologisch standpunt is vooral hoofdstuk VII interessant: "Hier op deze plaats moet ik over een belangrijke kwestie spreken die ik, toen ik aan dit boek begon, gehoopt had te kunnen omzeilen. Het betreft hier nam...more
“Dove devo andare, ora, io, un Trotta?....” La Cripta dei Cappuccini diviene non solo il cimitero degli Asburgo, ma il cimitero di un intero mondo.
Dalla prima all’ultima pagina si respira un’atmosfera lugubre. La morte più volte brinda “con le sue ossute mani” sopra i calici da cui la vecchia aristocrazia viennese beve e sopra giacigli notturni in cui si uniscono gli sterili corpi di una nobiltà decaduta, sopravvissuta alla grande guerra ma non allo sfacelo dell’impero, che ha portato con sé la...more
Dalla prima all’ultima pagina si respira un’atmosfera lugubre. La morte più volte brinda “con le sue ossute mani” sopra i calici da cui la vecchia aristocrazia viennese beve e sopra giacigli notturni in cui si uniscono gli sterili corpi di una nobiltà decaduta, sopravvissuta alla grande guerra ma non allo sfacelo dell’impero, che ha portato con sé la...more
Ein literarisches Schmankerl, das vor Ausbruch des ersten Weltkrieges in Wien eine dekadente überhebliche, leichtfertige Adelsschicht beschreibt, die nichts kann und zu nichts nütze ist, außer vielleicht für den Krieg. Nach der "glücklichen" Heimkehr aus einem Weltkrieg, der für die adeligen Offiziere eigentlich gar nicht so schlimm war, kommen der junge Baron und seine Freunde überhaupt nicht mehr mit der veränderten Welt zurecht, sie jammern und philosophieren aber nicht so viel wie diese russ...more
Slow paced which in this case in completely appropriate. Roth's narration on the change which took place in Austria since a few years prior to the first World War up until the beginning of the Nazi regime is fantastic. It accurately depicts the change which aristocratic families had to face in less than a generation. The carelessness and optimism of the protagonist is at times baffling and endearing as well as his idealism throughout the war. The melancholy with which the book concludes I found...more
I'm still struggling to understand the great reputation enjoyed by the novels of Joseph Roth. Emperor's Tomb is at best somewhat interesting, but the characters are not at all developed, nor are they particularly sympathetic. But Roth's friend Stefan Zweig strikes me as a far superior novelist: his stories are taut, intense, and full of rich psychological insight. The issue may be the translations: I have now read two of the older Overlook press editions of Roth, and have not read the Michael Ho...more
Augias lo ha definito il suo libro preferito. L'atmosfera che si respira e' malinconica. In quasi tutto il racconto c'e' un oscuro riferimento a cio' che poteva essere e non e' stato. Tutto viene vissuto in maniera apparentemente tranquilla, anche se poche sono le situazioni chiare e ben definite. Non condivido certamente l'opinione di Augias, ma nel complesso una lettura piacevole.
This is a wonderful little novel. With a very light touch (and beautifully clear translation by Michael Hofmann) it paints a moving picture of the fall of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and the empire's disintegration into numerous small nations plus a Germanic core soon to be swallowed by the Nazis. Melancholic, elegiac, and studded with beautiful sentences that I wanted to read over and over again.
Joseph Roth's `The Emperor's Tomb' is a curious work of nostalgia about the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the reconstruction of modern Austria through the eyes of a single individual. Unfortunately, one gets the impression that Roth's prose never really gets through in translation as the English remains are often clunky and awkward. Additionally, the novel is filled with unremarkable scenes of peasant life which fail to capture any of the idealism that Roth was apparently striving...more
A random pick at the airport but a very enjoyable one. Set during a cruical period for Austria - just before the start of the first world war and ending at the start of the second world war. Funny at some points, with some interesting characters, but sad also as we watch their decay.
Für mich das Roth-Highlight. Ein melancholisch-kakanophiler Leckerbissen, in dem Joseph Roth auch gleich die Antwort auf die Frage nach dem Untergang der k.u.k. Monarchie mitliefert: Die Monarchie räumte den Slawen zuwenig Rechte ein, gleichzeitig besiegelten die Deutschtümler mit ihrer "Wacht am Rhein" (ab Linz westwärts) statt dem "Gott Erhalte" endgültig den Untergang.
Österreich war nie eine Nation, Österreich war die erste und bisher einzige Übernation. Etwa Pole zu sein UND Österreicher war...more
Österreich war nie eine Nation, Österreich war die erste und bisher einzige Übernation. Etwa Pole zu sein UND Österreicher war...more
Wat een stijl, wat een verteller! Subtiele humor, schijnbaar eenvoudig. NIet ten onrechte een groot schrijver uit het Duitse taalgebied, en tout court. Als je van Böll houdt, zal je dit beslist ook kunnen smaken. En het leest zo vlot, dat je er in een paar weken, of als je doorleest zelfs een week, wel doorheen bent. Voor alle liefhebbers van een goed verhaal, en voor zij die ook geïnteresseerd zijn in de geschiedenis van Europa tussen 1900 tot 1945.
Excellent novel. I have read a lot of Roth during the last year (Rodetzky March and Job) and have enjoyed all of the books. Anyone who wants to understand Central Europe in the 20th century should read him.
Read this book from a friend´s bookshelf while visiting in Germany. My first encounter with Joseph Roth. Brilliant, cynical, tragic, must read more of his novels.
All our hearts were broken as the train rolled out of the station; for we loved nostalgia just as unthinkingly as we loved pleasure.
-Joseph Roth, The Emperor's Tomb
-Joseph Roth, The Emperor's Tomb
Excellent book. It grabs the downfall of the Austro-Hungarian empire in an original way. Short and well-written. Enjoy. Read in French.
Interesting insights into China's politics, culture and history tied into a fictional story with a suspenseful but not scary plotline.
[audiolibro "Ad alta voce"] Il mondo crolla addosso all'inetto e antipatico protagonista. Triste e deprimente, a tratti noioso, a tratti banale, però con alcuni momenti di intensa poesia.
Re-read every two years; alternate with Joseph Roth's The Radetzky March
I liked this as much or more than the Radedzky march
Mi sembra di guardare un quadro.
Sequel to The Radetzky March.
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Interesting 1st person style and historical context (WWI Austria/Slovenia), but a bit scattered.
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“I believe that my observations have always led me to find that the so-called realist moves about the world with a closed mind, ringed as it were with concrete and cement, and that the so-called romantic is like an unfenced garden in and out of which truth can wander at will.”
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6 people liked it
“Es ist eines der Geheimnisse der Muetter: sie verzichten niemals, ihre Kinder wiederzusehn, ihre totgeglaubten nicht und auch nicht ihre wirklich toten; und wenn es moeglich waehre dass ein totes Kind wiederauferstuende vor seiner Mutter, wuerde sie es in ihre Arme nehmen, so selbstverstaendlich, als waere es nicht aus dem Jenseits sondern aus einem der fernen Gegenden des Diesseits heimgekehrt. Eine Mutter erwarted die Wiederkehr ihres Kindes immer: ganz gleichgueltig, ob es in ein fernes Land gewandert ist, in ein nahes oder den Tod.”
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1 person liked it
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