Description
Book SynopsisA casual introduction, a challenge to a simple game of chess, a lovers' reunion, a meaningless infidelity: from such small seeds Zweig brings forth five startlingly tense tales-meditations on the fragility of love, the limits of obsession, the combustibility of secrets and betrayal. To read anything by Zweig is to risk addiction; in this collection the power of his writing-which, with its unabashed intensity and narrative drive, made him one of the bestselling and most acclaimed authors in the world-is clear and irresistible. Each of these stories is a bolt of experience, unforgettable and unique.
Trade Review"As much in his novellas as in his short stories, the Austrian writer’s psychological acuity brought his protagonists and their dilemmas vividly to life... A rediscovery of Zweig through this book gives an enlightening perspective on the past century and how we got where we are today."
— BlogCritics.org
Burning Secret"Breathtaking ... the final sentence is unlike anything I have ever read before."
— GuardianA Chess Story 'Perhaps the best chess story ever written, perhaps the best about any game'
— EconomistFear"Brilliant, unusual and haunting ... Stefan Zweig's time of oblivion is over for good."
— Salman Rushdie, The New York TimesConfusion"A marvellously poised account of misunderstood motives, thwarted love, and sublimated desires"
— TLS Journey into the Past"Vintage Stefan Zweig
— lucid, tender, powerful and compelling
'." — Independent
