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Weights & Measures
'Every man had not only a weak spot but also a criminal one'
At his wife's insistence, upstanding citizen and artillery officer Anselm Eibenschütz leaves his beloved Austro-Hungarian army and takes up a civilian post, as Inspector of Weights and Measures in a remote backwater near the Russian border. At first he does everything by the book, but gradually he finds himself adrift in a world of petty corruption, bribery and drunkenness - and undone by his passion for the beautiful gypsy Euphemia. A haunting evocation of Eastern Europe's borderlands in the early twentieth century, Weights and Measures is also the story of the disintegration of a good man.
Translated by David Le Vay
At his wife's insistence, upstanding citizen and artillery officer Anselm Eibenschütz leaves his beloved Austro-Hungarian army and takes up a civilian post, as Inspector of Weights and Measures in a remote backwater near the Russian border. At first he does everything by the book, but gradually he finds himself adrift in a world of petty corruption, bribery and drunkenness - and undone by his passion for the beautiful gypsy Euphemia. A haunting evocation of Eastern Europe's borderlands in the early twentieth century, Weights and Measures is also the story of the disintegration of a good man.
Translated by David Le Vay
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1937
21 people are currently reading
687 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Roth
552 books795 followersJoseph Roth, journalist and novelist, was born and grew up in Brody, a small town near Lemberg in East Galicia, part of the easternmost reaches of what was then the Austro-Hungarian empire and is now Ukraine. Roth was born into a Jewish family. He died in Paris after living there in exile.
http://www.josephroth.de/
http://www.josephroth.de/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
August 17, 2022
How is the identity of a man forged? How much will depend on the circumstances or the settings in which he is living? How much does his profession, and therefore his specified situation in his society, determine the way he considers his life, his actions? And if he represents the State, with all its legal, political, regulatory and bureaucratic machinery, how much of that structure is now part of him? And if he wears a uniform, to what extent has that become his true skeleton? If his mission is to measure the measures and weigh the weights, has he become a judge? If so, under whose law? What kind of judge is that?
For Joseph Roth (1894-1939) roots were important. He was the boy who grew without a father in Brody, a small place in Galicia, close to the Russian border during the Austro-Hungarian Empire but today part of Ukraine. He was born in a part of Brody called Szwaby, and this story of this novella is indeed set in a village called Szwaby.
As a newspaper correspondent he worked in Berlin, Russia and Paris, but it was not these welcomed stays in other cities that ingrained his feelings of both loss of homeland and of homelessness – these two not quite the same for him. First there had been the dissolution of the Austrian Empire, and then later on the very day that Hitler became Chancellor, on 30th January 1933, he exiled himself. As a journalist he could predict what that meant, better than Stefan Zweig had been able and to whom Roth wrote:
You will have realized by now that we are drifting towards great catastrophes. Apart from the private — our literary and financial existence is destroyed — it all leads to a new war. I won't bet a penny on our lives. They have succeeded in establishing a reign of barbarity. Do not fool yourself. Hell reigns.
In Weights and Measures, Roth traces, superbly, the gradual transformation of a man who thought he knew himself, because he knew his settings, into an altogether different person because of his endured uprooting. Or may be he did not metamorphose and he just had not known who he was because his well-defined settings did not invite him to examine his own self. Roth raises questions on the role of destiny, of loneliness and solitude, of how the unexpected can make one’s soul lose its balance, of who is truly in command in the world, of how much control does one really have over oneself (does alcohol help?). And for this he chooses again the frontier, the borderlands, places where one is close to a limit, where one can go on edge. And the societies he depicts are also those: the uprooted, the smugglers, fugitives, racketeers, runaways, and swindlers – those who excel at arbitrating circumscriptions.
And in these choices we can see the complexity of Roth’s mind. He cried over the break up of his empire, as he showed in his The Radetzky March , but the land he represents is not the idealized, glitzy, cosmopolitan Vienna that one finds in some of his contemporaries. And although this novella, one of his last works and written during very difficult times, has a darker and much more bleak tone than, for example the earlier Hotel Savoy, it still has the texture of a fable. The yarn that gives its colour has the chilly tints of blue, dark deep blues, and of white and silky silver. Colours of the night and winter. For if Roth presents to us a desolate view onto the futility of human nature, he frames it with the implacable and unyielding power of nature, of cycles brought about by the changing seasons.
Individuals are ephemeral while natural surroundings remain inexorable, merciless, ...and beautiful.
Who is measuring then?
May 28, 2017
Τον αγαπώ τον Ροτ. Θέλω να φτιάξω έναν Σύλλογο Φίλων του Γιόζεφ Ροτ, οι συνεδριάσεις του οποίου θα πραγματοποιούνται σε επιλεγμένα μπαρ και καπηλειά ανά τη χώρα.
October 15, 2022
"Έντιμος καθώς ήταν, ένιωθε πάνω απ' όλα μια ακατανίκητη επιθυμία να ανακαλύψει όλη την αλήθεια, να εξακριβώσει τρόπον τινά τα μέτρα και τα σταθμά των συμβάντων και να τα αξιολογήσει".
Συγκλονιστικό μυθιστόρημα. Μέ φόντο μια γκρίζα, παγωμένη και βουτηγμένη στη λάσπη παραμεθόριο πόλη της αποθνήσκουσας Αυστρουγγρικής Αυτοκρατορίας, το μοναχικό έρεβος ενός σιωπηλού υπαλλήλου, ενός άγευστου και άχρωμου επιθεωρητή των μέτρων και των σταθμών γίνεται ταυτόχρονα δράμα, κωμωδία και υπαρξιακός στοχασμός.
Πολύ προσεγμένη έκδοση με το επίμετρο να προσφέρει μια ανάγνωση των βιβλικών - ταλμουδικών συνηχήσεων του κειμένου (χωρίς κατά την γνώμη μου να επαρκεί για να εξηγήσει το βάθος αυτής της καταπληκτικής ιστορίας).
Είναι το δεύτερο βιβλίο του Joseph Roth που διαβάζω και νιώθω πολύ τυχερός που το έργο του έχει μεταφραστεί τόσο καλά στα ελληνικά.
Μια μικρή παρατήρηση : στην πρώτη υποσημείωση του επίμετρου η δίωξη των Εβραίων από την Ιβηρική χερσόνησο εκ παραδρομής φαντάζομαι αναφέρεται στο έτος 1942 αντί του 1492!
Συγκλονιστικό μυθιστόρημα. Μέ φόντο μια γκρίζα, παγωμένη και βουτηγμένη στη λάσπη παραμεθόριο πόλη της αποθνήσκουσας Αυστρουγγρικής Αυτοκρατορίας, το μοναχικό έρεβος ενός σιωπηλού υπαλλήλου, ενός άγευστου και άχρωμου επιθεωρητή των μέτρων και των σταθμών γίνεται ταυτόχρονα δράμα, κωμωδία και υπαρξιακός στοχασμός.
Πολύ προσεγμένη έκδοση με το επίμετρο να προσφέρει μια ανάγνωση των βιβλικών - ταλμουδικών συνηχήσεων του κειμένου (χωρίς κατά την γνώμη μου να επαρκεί για να εξηγήσει το βάθος αυτής της καταπληκτικής ιστορίας).
Είναι το δεύτερο βιβλίο του Joseph Roth που διαβάζω και νιώθω πολύ τυχερός που το έργο του έχει μεταφραστεί τόσο καλά στα ελληνικά.
Μια μικρή παρατήρηση : στην πρώτη υποσημείωση του επίμετρου η δίωξη των Εβραίων από την Ιβηρική χερσόνησο εκ παραδρομής φαντάζομαι αναφέρεται στο έτος 1942 αντί του 1492!
May 31, 2017
Το κάλπικο ζυγι είναι ο προκρουστικος τρόπος με τον οποίο εφαρμόζουμε τον κοινό Κανόνα στη ζωή μας... Μακάριος αυτός που το αντιλαμβάνεται και το αντιμετωπίζει
August 6, 2018
Most people depart this world without having acquired so much as a grain of truth about themselves. Possibly they acquire it in the next world. Some, however, are granted self-knowledge while they are still in this world. It usually comes to them quite suddenly and alarms them mightily. Inspector Eibenschütz belonged to this category of men.
link to my review
https://wordpress.com/post/inacawl.wo...
link to my review
https://wordpress.com/post/inacawl.wo...
October 17, 2020
Anselm Eibenschütz mértékmester olyan, akár azok a masszív, egyszerű tölgybútorok, mondjuk egy ágy vagy egy nehéz tálalószekrény: súlyos és erős, mintha az öröklétnek készült volna, nincs túl sok fantázia benne, de itt lesz velünk még száz év múlva is, gondolhatnánk. Csakhogy akármilyen masszív bútor is, a szú, úgy fest, megtalálta az utat a szívéig. Mert Eibenschützöt eszi valami hamisság, valami titkos féreg, addig eszi, addig rágja, míg a súlyos, megbízható felszín alatt korhadt fává nem lesz egész lénye. Nagyszerű morális példabeszéd, igazi elbukástörténet a Monarchia keleti szegletéből - amihez rengeteget hozzátesz a helyszín, az azóta eltűnt galiciáner atmoszféra érzékeny kézzel és szívvel történő ábrázolása. Joseph Roth ennek a világnak kiemelkedő piktora.
(Különben meg imádom ezt a Szent Imrés polcot, de nem szeretnék sokat szemezgetni már róla. Hosszút meg csak azért sem választok. Csak azért se.)
(Különben meg imádom ezt a Szent Imrés polcot, de nem szeretnék sokat szemezgetni már róla. Hosszút meg csak azért sem választok. Csak azért se.)
January 3, 2020
Ευκολοδιάβαστο, αρκετά ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία και πολλά "αθόρυβα" σχόλια του συγγραφέα περί Εντιμότητας και Ηθικών Αξιών.
Αποτελεί πολύ καλή επιλογή για οποιονδήποτε ψάχνει ένα βιβλίο για να περάσει ευχάριστα η ώρα του αλλά και για να σκεφτεί.
Αποτελεί πολύ καλή επιλογή για οποιονδήποτε ψάχνει ένα βιβλίο για να περάσει ευχάριστα η ώρα του αλλά και για να σκεφτεί.
June 7, 2018
Romanzo breve del 1937, appartenente alla fase finale della produzione dell’autore e interamente dedicato ad un personaggio emblematico, un verificatore di pesi e di misure, perso in una dimensione geografica sospesa tra frontiera e assurdità, molto kafkiana. È la storia di una involuzione, di una discesa negli abissi, quasi contrapposta a quell’esaltante e amorale ascesa che invece caratterizza il protagonista di uno dei suoi romanzi brevi d’esordio, “La tela di ragno”. Anche qui troviamo un ex militare nostalgico, che per accontentare la moglie dismette i panni da sottufficiale in carriera da ben dodici anni, e si fa reintegrare dalla società civile. Gli spetta un incarico di diritto: sarà un verificatore di pesi e di misure a Szvaby, una sperduta cittadina di frontiera della Moravia. Qui inizia la sua storia, qui si compie la sua involuzione.
“Gli uomini muoiono per lo più senza sapere un solo granello di verità su se stessi. Magari la sapranno nell’altro mondo. Ad alcuni però è concesso, ancora in questa vita, di conoscere che cosa sono realmente. Lo conoscono di solito all’improvviso, e ne rimangono spaventati. A questo genere di uomini apparteneva il verificatore Eibenschütz”
In uno scenario ambientale ostile, fatto di stridenti disgeli dopo impietosi inverni e di fugaci estati, ruota un pugno di esistenze dedite al commercio, falsato da unità di misura utili alla mera sopravvivenza. Ad un peso falso corrisponde un inganno e ad esso un istinto di autoconservazione, su tutti impietoso il ligio e temuto impiegato statale. Il suo essere e il suo operare uno scontro fra etica e morale, fra legge e giustizia raccontato con uno stile sobrio e maturo. Per lui un occhio buono solo quando mostrerà le sue debolezze sprofondate nell’alcolismo, bellissime pagine anticipatorie dell’ultimo lavoro postumo dell’autore, “La leggenda del santo bevitore”. Lo consiglio per congedarsi da Roth se si ha una sufficiente conoscenza della sua produzione e se si predilige in essa la restituzione di un mondo sperduto là in qualche posto di frontiera nel cuore dell’est europeo.
“Gli uomini muoiono per lo più senza sapere un solo granello di verità su se stessi. Magari la sapranno nell’altro mondo. Ad alcuni però è concesso, ancora in questa vita, di conoscere che cosa sono realmente. Lo conoscono di solito all’improvviso, e ne rimangono spaventati. A questo genere di uomini apparteneva il verificatore Eibenschütz”
In uno scenario ambientale ostile, fatto di stridenti disgeli dopo impietosi inverni e di fugaci estati, ruota un pugno di esistenze dedite al commercio, falsato da unità di misura utili alla mera sopravvivenza. Ad un peso falso corrisponde un inganno e ad esso un istinto di autoconservazione, su tutti impietoso il ligio e temuto impiegato statale. Il suo essere e il suo operare uno scontro fra etica e morale, fra legge e giustizia raccontato con uno stile sobrio e maturo. Per lui un occhio buono solo quando mostrerà le sue debolezze sprofondate nell’alcolismo, bellissime pagine anticipatorie dell’ultimo lavoro postumo dell’autore, “La leggenda del santo bevitore”. Lo consiglio per congedarsi da Roth se si ha una sufficiente conoscenza della sua produzione e se si predilige in essa la restituzione di un mondo sperduto là in qualche posto di frontiera nel cuore dell’est europeo.
February 11, 2025
The loss of the army which anchored him to a life which he loved and the loss of a wife who was not his partner in life made him vulnerable and it was this vulnerability which made me sad. It’s like watching a person heading towards a train wreck and being unable to keep them back on the safe road because in such circumstances no road is safe.
Eibenschutz is cut adrift on a turbulent sea so it is no small wonder that he clings so vehemently to a woman who he thinks can give him some sort of anchor.
Yes, he was an Inspector of Weights and Measures who did his job whilst surrounded by a multitude of crooks. But Roth takes these weights and measures also into his personal life. Can he remain true when enveloped in loneliness and trouble? Can he find the right path then? He was responsible for measuring right and wrong in the weights of others, is he able to do this for himself as well? Looking within ourselves is not that easy. We feel, we shy away, we try not to see and allow ourselves to see only what we ‘like’.
An ARC gently provided by the publishers via Netgalley.
Eibenschutz is cut adrift on a turbulent sea so it is no small wonder that he clings so vehemently to a woman who he thinks can give him some sort of anchor.
Yes, he was an Inspector of Weights and Measures who did his job whilst surrounded by a multitude of crooks. But Roth takes these weights and measures also into his personal life. Can he remain true when enveloped in loneliness and trouble? Can he find the right path then? He was responsible for measuring right and wrong in the weights of others, is he able to do this for himself as well? Looking within ourselves is not that easy. We feel, we shy away, we try not to see and allow ourselves to see only what we ‘like’.
An ARC gently provided by the publishers via Netgalley.
December 6, 2024
"Gli uomini muoiono per lo più senza sapere un solo granello di verità su se stessi. Magari la sapranno nell'altro mondo. Ad alcuni però è concesso, ancora in questa vita, di conoscere che cosa sono realmente. Lo conoscono di solito all'improvviso, e ne rimangono spaventati"
February 24, 2018
Con una prosa inusual en este autor, nos es presentada la historia del almotacén (palabra que no conocía y que se refiere al funcionario público encargado de verificar que las pesas y las balanzas de los comerciantes no estén alteradas) Anselm Eibenschütz y sus andanzas por los poblados de una Europa Oriental, entonces perteneciente al Imperio Austrohúngaro, ya muy cerca de la Rusia zarista.
En estas descripciones podemos apreciar la presencia judía tan ligada a Roth, así como los poblados plurinacionales y multiétnicos característicos del Imperio Austrohúngaro. Esta diversidad perdida por la desintegración del Imperio casi siempre se muestra en las obras de este autor.
Me refiero a lo inusual de la prosa del célebre escritor centro-europeo Joseph Roth (1894-1939), debido a que “El peso falso” oscila entre un cuento de hadas y una novela con tintes policiacos. Siendo ésta una obra tardía, tal vez el autor decidió experimentar con un género distinto y me ha parecido que le quedó bien. Una especie de fábula que nos habla del amor, del desamor, del resentimiento, de la soledad, de la decepción, pero me parece que sobre todo nos habla de una falta de identidad con el mundo y de las contradicciones humanas.
“Casi todos mueren sin saber siquiera un granito de verdad sobre sí mismos”
Con el entrañable sello de Roth, la obra en cuestión digamos que no presenta complejidad intelectual; es breve y muy ágil de leer ya que está construida a base de frases cortas, con pocos diálogos, capítulos breves y no muchos personajes, entre los que destacan el temible Jadlowker, la seductora gitana Euphemia, el traficante de desertores Kapturak y los dos oficiales que acompañan al almotacén en sus pesquisas.
La traducción del joven traductor mexicano que se presenta en esta edición, Ricardo Ruiz León, me ha parecido estupenda.
En estas descripciones podemos apreciar la presencia judía tan ligada a Roth, así como los poblados plurinacionales y multiétnicos característicos del Imperio Austrohúngaro. Esta diversidad perdida por la desintegración del Imperio casi siempre se muestra en las obras de este autor.
Me refiero a lo inusual de la prosa del célebre escritor centro-europeo Joseph Roth (1894-1939), debido a que “El peso falso” oscila entre un cuento de hadas y una novela con tintes policiacos. Siendo ésta una obra tardía, tal vez el autor decidió experimentar con un género distinto y me ha parecido que le quedó bien. Una especie de fábula que nos habla del amor, del desamor, del resentimiento, de la soledad, de la decepción, pero me parece que sobre todo nos habla de una falta de identidad con el mundo y de las contradicciones humanas.
“Casi todos mueren sin saber siquiera un granito de verdad sobre sí mismos”
Con el entrañable sello de Roth, la obra en cuestión digamos que no presenta complejidad intelectual; es breve y muy ágil de leer ya que está construida a base de frases cortas, con pocos diálogos, capítulos breves y no muchos personajes, entre los que destacan el temible Jadlowker, la seductora gitana Euphemia, el traficante de desertores Kapturak y los dos oficiales que acompañan al almotacén en sus pesquisas.
La traducción del joven traductor mexicano que se presenta en esta edición, Ricardo Ruiz León, me ha parecido estupenda.
October 15, 2024
Another book which I enjoyed but with no real idea why. The writing is good and I looked forward to picking it up but the tale is quite simple and doesn't appear to have any kind of moral to it.
The plot revolves around Anselm Eibenschutz who becomes an Inspector of Weights and Measures at the insistence of his wife, who didn't like his long absences when he was in the army.
Eibenschutz takes his job seriously but is shocked to learn that his wife is pregnant by his clerk. This begins Eibenschutz's descent as he frequents a tavern and falls in love with the beautiful Euphemia. However, there are obstacles in the way of his love, which he resolves to remove to his own detriment.
Joseph Roth does a fine job of showing how easy it is to fall into bad company and let your responsibilities go. Eibenschutz seems to be a permanently disappointed man who is unable to say what he wants and is pushed around by others' wishes.
As I say I don't know why I liked the book other than the writing but I would definitely read more by this author.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for the advance review copy.
The plot revolves around Anselm Eibenschutz who becomes an Inspector of Weights and Measures at the insistence of his wife, who didn't like his long absences when he was in the army.
Eibenschutz takes his job seriously but is shocked to learn that his wife is pregnant by his clerk. This begins Eibenschutz's descent as he frequents a tavern and falls in love with the beautiful Euphemia. However, there are obstacles in the way of his love, which he resolves to remove to his own detriment.
Joseph Roth does a fine job of showing how easy it is to fall into bad company and let your responsibilities go. Eibenschutz seems to be a permanently disappointed man who is unable to say what he wants and is pushed around by others' wishes.
As I say I don't know why I liked the book other than the writing but I would definitely read more by this author.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for the advance review copy.
August 3, 2023
Типичен Йозеф Рот, потопяващ в мрачното битие на Хабсбургските погранични региони, където блясъкът на империята бива ежедневно помрачаван от дребно измамничество и тарикатлък.
П.П Издателство "блек фламинго" , самозакрийте се, моля! Изданията на Рот са пълни с правописни грешки, а Мурдаровия бездарен превод допълва жалката картинка. Имам чувството, че ученици са подготвяли тези издания, но май не бива да обиждаме учениците.
П.П Издателство "блек фламинго" , самозакрийте се, моля! Изданията на Рот са пълни с правописни грешки, а Мурдаровия бездарен превод допълва жалката картинка. Имам чувството, че ученици са подготвяли тези издания, но май не бива да обиждаме учениците.
October 30, 2024
Very good! I had never read Joseph Roth, but this novella definitely makes me want to explore more.
"Weights and Measures" is set somewhere on the Eastern border of the Habsburg Empire. To please his new wife, the honorable Anselm Eibenschuetz leaves the Austro-Hungarian army to become a scrupulous Inspector of Weights and Measures in a border town where the people view representatives of the state with scepticism. Eibenschuetz is not happy and blames his wife for forcing him to leave his army job. Not long after, she betrays him and Eibenschuetz starts drinking, falls in love with a beautiful gypsy woman and - like the Empire he represents - slowly loses his principles.
The writing is good, but it is the setting that made this so interesting to me.
"Weights and Measures" is set somewhere on the Eastern border of the Habsburg Empire. To please his new wife, the honorable Anselm Eibenschuetz leaves the Austro-Hungarian army to become a scrupulous Inspector of Weights and Measures in a border town where the people view representatives of the state with scepticism. Eibenschuetz is not happy and blames his wife for forcing him to leave his army job. Not long after, she betrays him and Eibenschuetz starts drinking, falls in love with a beautiful gypsy woman and - like the Empire he represents - slowly loses his principles.
The writing is good, but it is the setting that made this so interesting to me.
June 21, 2020
Το βιβλίο είναι πολύ καλό και μπορεί εύκολα να διαβαστεί από οποιονδήποτε και οπουδήποτε. Το μόνο που με χάλασε λίγο ήταν το γεγονός πως οι χαρακτήρες ήταν αρκετά μονοδιάστατοι και ένιωθα σαν να μου αφηγείται μια πολύ ωραία ιστορία ένας τρομερός παραμυθάς, αλλά για τα πιο ουδέτερα και αδιάφορα άτομα της ζωής μου. Όσο και να θέλει κανείς να ταυτιστεί είναι λίγο δύσκολο, όμως μπορεί εύκολα κανείς να παραλληλίσει στιγμές που βρέθηκε στον πάτο και έγινε το κουκούτσι που έφτυναν όλοι με την ζωή του Άνζελμ Αιμπενζυτς... Την πουτάνα την ζωή που του χρεώσανε.
Δεν μου αρέσει να κατηγοριοποιώ τίποτα, όμως αν υπάρχουν ποιοτικά βιβλία που μπορούν να διαβαστούν και στην παραλία, σίγουρα αυτό ανήκει σε εκείνη την κατηγορία. Βιβλίο που μπορεί να ικανοποιήσει τον αναγνώστη όχι απλώς μονοδιάστατα μιας και διαβάζεται ευχάριστα αλλά επίσης μπορεί να του δώσει και τροφή για σκέψη. Η τροφή για σκέψη που μου έδωσε ο Ανζελμ είναι πως την επόμενη φορά που θα ερωτευτώ κάποιον φθηνό άνθρωπο να φύγω όσο το δυνατόν νωρίτερα γίνεται γιατί την τελευταία φορά που επένδυσα σε μια μετριότητα, μόνο υπεύθυνος στο καφέ που δούλευε δεν έγινα, γιατί όλον τον προβληματικό και επικίνδυνο περίγυρό της τον έφαγα στη μάπα χρόνια.
4/5...Τέλειο για παραλία..
Δεν μου αρέσει να κατηγοριοποιώ τίποτα, όμως αν υπάρχουν ποιοτικά βιβλία που μπορούν να διαβαστούν και στην παραλία, σίγουρα αυτό ανήκει σε εκείνη την κατηγορία. Βιβλίο που μπορεί να ικανοποιήσει τον αναγνώστη όχι απλώς μονοδιάστατα μιας και διαβάζεται ευχάριστα αλλά επίσης μπορεί να του δώσει και τροφή για σκέψη. Η τροφή για σκέψη που μου έδωσε ο Ανζελμ είναι πως την επόμενη φορά που θα ερωτευτώ κάποιον φθηνό άνθρωπο να φύγω όσο το δυνατόν νωρίτερα γίνεται γιατί την τελευταία φορά που επένδυσα σε μια μετριότητα, μόνο υπεύθυνος στο καφέ που δούλευε δεν έγινα, γιατί όλον τον προβληματικό και επικίνδυνο περίγυρό της τον έφαγα στη μάπα χρόνια.
4/5...Τέλειο για παραλία..
January 20, 2020
Когато се срещат за последен път в белгийския курорт Остенде през лятото на 1936 г., двамата изгнаници и големи приятели Стефан Цвайг и Йозеф Рот са изгубили много от надеждите си за някаква светлина в непрогледната нощ на диктатурата, превземаща Европа. Самият Рот затъва все повече в отчайващото си пиянство, а приятелят му споделя, че това вече се отразява на писането му. Година по-късно, през 1937 година, излиза една от последните му новели – „Das Falsche Gewicht“, преведена на български по малко двусмисления начин „Фалшивите тежини“.
Затваряйки последната страница, трябва да се съглася с наблюдението на Стефан Цвайг – низходящата спирала, по която по онова време уверено се движи Рот, е дала отражение върху една от последните му новели. Вижте защо в ревюто: https://bibliotekata.wordpress.com/20...
Затваряйки последната страница, трябва да се съглася с наблюдението на Стефан Цвайг – низходящата спирала, по която по онова време уверено се движи Рот, е дала отражение върху една от последните му новели. Вижте защо в ревюто: https://bibliotekata.wordpress.com/20...
March 23, 2017
Αν και έχουν μεταφραστεί ένα κάρο άλλα βιβλία του συγγραφέα στα ελληνικά, έμελλε να έρθω για πρώτη φορά σε επαφή με το έργο του διαβάζοντας το συγκεκριμένο, που κυκλοφόρησε πριν λίγες μέρες στην γλώσσα μας. Απ'όσο καταλαβαίνω δεν είναι και το πιο γνωστό του βιβλίο, και σίγουρα ούτε το καλύτερό του, όμως μπορώ να πω ότι με άφησε πλήρως ικανοποιημένο.
Η ιστορία έχει να κάνει μ'έναν πρώην πυροτεχνουργό του στρατού, τον Άιμπενσυτς, ο οποίος έπειτα από δώδεκα χρόνια υπηρεσίας στον στρατό, παραιτήθηκε για χάρη της γυναίκας του και ανέλαβε πόστο επιθεωρητή στην επαρχία Ζλότογκροντ. Τα νέα του καθήκοντα έχουν να κάνουν με τον έλεγχο των μέτρων και των σταθμών που χρησιμοποιούν οι έμποροι της περιοχής για να κάνουν τις δουλειές τους. Το θέμα είναι ότι σε μια επαρχία όπου η κλεψιά, η μπαγαποντιά, η απάτη και η δωροδοκία είναι στην ημερήσια διάταξη, ένας έντιμος και ευσυνείδητος κυβερνητικός υπάλληλος όπως ο Άιμπενσυτς, δύσκολα μπορεί να τα βγάλει πέρα. Ειδικά από την στιγμή που θα γνωρίσει και μια γυναίκα που θα του πάρει τα μυαλά, ενώ θ'αρχίσει να σιχαίνεται την δικιά του...
Η ιστορία μου άρεσε σε πολύ μεγάλο βαθμό και με κράτησε από την πρώτη μέχρι και την τελευταία σελίδα, όμως την διαφορά στο βιβλίο την κάνει η απίθανη γραφή του Ροτ. Είναι εξαιρετική, ευκολοδιάβαστη, λιτή και συνάμα διεισδυτική, με λίγο λεπτό χιούμορ. Οι περιγραφές των τοπίων, των γεγονότων και των ανθρώπων φοβερές, κατάφεραν να με μεταφέρουν στα χιονοσκέπαστα και λασπερά τοπία της μεθοριακής υπαίθρου, όπου διαδραματίζεται η όλη ιστορία. Μόνο άλλο ένα βιβλίο του συγγραφέα έχω στα ελληνικά (το non fiction "Βερολινέζικα χρονικά"), αλλά σίγουρα στο άμεσο μέλλον θα προμηθευτώ τουλάχιστον δυο-τρία ακόμα.
Η ιστορία έχει να κάνει μ'έναν πρώην πυροτεχνουργό του στρατού, τον Άιμπενσυτς, ο οποίος έπειτα από δώδεκα χρόνια υπηρεσίας στον στρατό, παραιτήθηκε για χάρη της γυναίκας του και ανέλαβε πόστο επιθεωρητή στην επαρχία Ζλότογκροντ. Τα νέα του καθήκοντα έχουν να κάνουν με τον έλεγχο των μέτρων και των σταθμών που χρησιμοποιούν οι έμποροι της περιοχής για να κάνουν τις δουλειές τους. Το θέμα είναι ότι σε μια επαρχία όπου η κλεψιά, η μπαγαποντιά, η απάτη και η δωροδοκία είναι στην ημερήσια διάταξη, ένας έντιμος και ευσυνείδητος κυβερνητικός υπάλληλος όπως ο Άιμπενσυτς, δύσκολα μπορεί να τα βγάλει πέρα. Ειδικά από την στιγμή που θα γνωρίσει και μια γυναίκα που θα του πάρει τα μυαλά, ενώ θ'αρχίσει να σιχαίνεται την δικιά του...
Η ιστορία μου άρεσε σε πολύ μεγάλο βαθμό και με κράτησε από την πρώτη μέχρι και την τελευταία σελίδα, όμως την διαφορά στο βιβλίο την κάνει η απίθανη γραφή του Ροτ. Είναι εξαιρετική, ευκολοδιάβαστη, λιτή και συνάμα διεισδυτική, με λίγο λεπτό χιούμορ. Οι περιγραφές των τοπίων, των γεγονότων και των ανθρώπων φοβερές, κατάφεραν να με μεταφέρουν στα χιονοσκέπαστα και λασπερά τοπία της μεθοριακής υπαίθρου, όπου διαδραματίζεται η όλη ιστορία. Μόνο άλλο ένα βιβλίο του συγγραφέα έχω στα ελληνικά (το non fiction "Βερολινέζικα χρονικά"), αλλά σίγουρα στο άμεσο μέλλον θα προμηθευτώ τουλάχιστον δυο-τρία ακόμα.
May 20, 2015
Il mio primo JR letto su consiglio di un’amica appassionata di mitteleuropa & co.
Non mi ha fatto impazzire ma ha comunque vari punti a suo favore:
La caratterizzazione dei personaggi (la bellezza ingombrante di Euphemia, il caldarrostaio Sameskin, lo stesso Eibenschütz).
La vita randagia di frontiera e l’atmosfera al limite che si porta dietro.
Il freddo tagliente.
Struttura a capitoli brevi, che te li leggi veloci uno dietro l’altro.
Fiabesco, gelido, amaro. [71/100]
Non mi ha fatto impazzire ma ha comunque vari punti a suo favore:
La caratterizzazione dei personaggi (la bellezza ingombrante di Euphemia, il caldarrostaio Sameskin, lo stesso Eibenschütz).
La vita randagia di frontiera e l’atmosfera al limite che si porta dietro.
Il freddo tagliente.
Struttura a capitoli brevi, che te li leggi veloci uno dietro l’altro.
Fiabesco, gelido, amaro. [71/100]
April 8, 2018
Una lettura molto bella dove a mio avviso la storia superficiale degli eventi è metafora di qualcosa di più profondo, propriamente dell'incapacità di venire a patti con l'esistenza, di sapersi districare tra le sue infinite sfumature, dove i valori morali non sono in realtà mai assoluti, tutti bianchi o tutti neri, come pensa il povero Eibenschütz, ma di infiniti colori, tanti quanti sono i pesi dentro una bottega. Non capire questo può farci pagare un prezzo molto alto.
May 24, 2019
Joseph Roth'un "Bir Katilin İtirafları" başlıklı romanını çok beğendiğim için "Hileli Tartı""yı okudum. Ne yazık ki aynı tadı alamadım.
June 2, 2019
Ancora 5 stelle a Joseph Roth. Ancora un romanzo breve (o racconto lungo, o novella, fate voi) che è una metafora della vita, un po’ più pessimista rispetto a “La leggenda del santo bevitore”, ma altrettanto struggente e delicata. Mi piace lo stile di Joseph Roth, la sua scrittura lieve, che non ama i colori sgargianti e predilige un andamento semplice, un ritmo lento, con un gusto per il particolare, per i dettagli quotidiani. Mi piace soprattutto la sua propensione a far scorrere le storie come se fossero fiabe.
”C’era una volta…, così inizia questo romanzo che ci racconta la storia di un uomo integerrimo (Anselm Eibenschutz), fedele servitore dello Stato, che, dopo dodici anni di carriera militare, accetta un incarico come verificatore di pesi e misure nel remoto distretto di Zlotograd ai confini dell’impero asburgico, tra l’Austria e la Russia: in questo luogo fuori dal mondo e fuori dal tempo si svolgono le vicende kafkiane che lo riguardano.
“Gli uomini muoiono per lo più senza sapere un solo granello di verità su se stessi. Magari la sapranno nell’altro mondo. Ad alcuni però è concesso, ancora in questa vita, di conoscere che cosa sono realmente. Lo conoscono di solito all’improvviso, e ne rimangono spaventati. A questo genere di uomini apparteneva il verificatore Eibenschutz”.
La quinta stella è dovuta alla vena di malinconica poesia che pervade il racconto: la poesia racchiusa nella parabola umana di un uomo probo e la poesia che proviene dalle intense descrizioni dell’alternarsi delle stagioni, del paesaggio, della natura che assiste partecipe alle vicissitudini umane.
"Una notte, improvvisamente, Eibenschutz udì il grande schianto della crosta di ghiaccio che si rompeva. Benché fosse a metà della notte, le stalattiti sull'orlo dei tetti cominciarono a liquefarsi. Un mite e dolce venticello che veniva dal sud, fratello notturno del sole, le scioglieva. Nel cielo chiaro, soffuso di un pallido azzurro, stavano fredde, eterne e splendenti le stelle, quelle d'oro e quelle d'argento, e pareva che loro pure, dall'alto, stessero in ascolto di quegli schianti, di quel fragore".
August 25, 2017
“C'era una volta nel distretto di Zlotogrod un verificatore di pesi e delle misure che si chiamava Anselmo Eibenschütz. Egli aveva l'incarico di controllare i pesi e le misure dei negozianti in tutta quella regione. A determinati intervalli Eibenschütz andava dunque da bottega in bottega all'altra a esaminare i metri, le bilance, i pesi. L'accompagnava un sergente dei gendarmi fieramente armato. Così lo stato dava a conoscere che all'occorrenza avrebbe punito a mano armata i falsari, fedele al detto della Sacra Scrittura, secondo il quale chi è falsario è ladro...”
Sembra l’inizio di una fiaba, ambientata in un tempo indefinito. Anselm Eibenschütz, un ufficiale dell’esercito austriaco lascia l’esercito per accettare il posto di verificatore di pesi e misure. Il passaggio dalla gerarchia, l’ordine e la disciplina dell’esercito alla vita in un piccolo paese, è particolarmente difficile, specialmente a causa dell’illegalità che impera sia nei commercianti che nelle forze dell’ordine. Essendo zelante ed amante del rigore si impegna a ristabilire le regole , ma la sua intransigenza lo rende ovviamente impopolare ed isolato. Perfino la moglie, approfittando del rapporto ormai stanco, lo tradisce con un suo impiegato.
Assistiamo quindi alla progressiva perdizione di Anselm nell’alcool e nell’amore per una zingara, fino alla sua morte. Molto forte il contrasto tra l’integrità sul lavoro e la confusione della sua vita privata, situazione che viene in qualche modo capovolta nel finale, quando Anselm, pochi attimi prima di morire, assiste delirando alla inversione dei ruoli. Lui, negoziante con centinaia di pesi falsificati è costretto alla presenza del Grande Verificatore, che scopre i suoi inganni ma non lo denuncia: “I tuoi pesi sono tutti falsi, eppure tutti giusti. Non ti denuncerò. Io sono il grande verificatore”.
“Gli uomini muoiono per lo più senza sapere un solo granello di verità su se stessi. Magari la sapranno nell’altro mondo. Ad alcuni però è concesso, ancora in questa vita, di conoscere che cosa sono realmente. Lo conoscono di solito all’improvviso, e ne rimangono spaventati. A questo genere di uomini apparteneva il verificatore Eibenschutz.”
Bel romanzo, stile semplice, lieve ma estremamente efficace.
Sembra l’inizio di una fiaba, ambientata in un tempo indefinito. Anselm Eibenschütz, un ufficiale dell’esercito austriaco lascia l’esercito per accettare il posto di verificatore di pesi e misure. Il passaggio dalla gerarchia, l’ordine e la disciplina dell’esercito alla vita in un piccolo paese, è particolarmente difficile, specialmente a causa dell’illegalità che impera sia nei commercianti che nelle forze dell’ordine. Essendo zelante ed amante del rigore si impegna a ristabilire le regole , ma la sua intransigenza lo rende ovviamente impopolare ed isolato. Perfino la moglie, approfittando del rapporto ormai stanco, lo tradisce con un suo impiegato.
Assistiamo quindi alla progressiva perdizione di Anselm nell’alcool e nell’amore per una zingara, fino alla sua morte. Molto forte il contrasto tra l’integrità sul lavoro e la confusione della sua vita privata, situazione che viene in qualche modo capovolta nel finale, quando Anselm, pochi attimi prima di morire, assiste delirando alla inversione dei ruoli. Lui, negoziante con centinaia di pesi falsificati è costretto alla presenza del Grande Verificatore, che scopre i suoi inganni ma non lo denuncia: “I tuoi pesi sono tutti falsi, eppure tutti giusti. Non ti denuncerò. Io sono il grande verificatore”.
“Gli uomini muoiono per lo più senza sapere un solo granello di verità su se stessi. Magari la sapranno nell’altro mondo. Ad alcuni però è concesso, ancora in questa vita, di conoscere che cosa sono realmente. Lo conoscono di solito all’improvviso, e ne rimangono spaventati. A questo genere di uomini apparteneva il verificatore Eibenschutz.”
Bel romanzo, stile semplice, lieve ma estremamente efficace.
May 18, 2015
"C'era una volta...". Cosi' inizia il racconto, scritto in modo elementare, con frasi brevi: questo è "Il peso falso". Nella sua semplicità e brevità contiene una enorme ricchezza di significati e di riflessioni. Evidenti sono gli spunti autobiografici nel personaggio del verificatore di pesi e misure, uomo ordinato e preciso, a lungo militare, abituato ad obbedire agli ordini superiori, divenuto suo malgrado funzionario statale in un angolo remoto dell’impero, una località sperduta della Galizia in cui si incontrano solo personaggi disonesti, contrabbandieri, criminali, usurai e tanti poveri disertori russi schiavi della malinconia della patria abbandonata. “Era un uomo probo, probo fino in fondo, e aveva un cuore buono e severo a un tempo.” La sua razionalità cade in pezzi quando incontra una zingara che diviene la sua ossessione, fino a giungere, in una esistenza segnata dalla solitudine, a sprofondare nell’alcool e nel degrado fisico e morale che lo condurranno verso un finale tragico, culminante nella stupefacente verità rivelatagli dal grande verificatore al cospetto del quale si presenta al momento della morte: “I tuoi pesi sono tutti falsi, eppure tutti giusti. Perciò non ti denunceremo…”. Ogni certezza crolla nell’ultimo istante di vita. Il senso della giustizia che lo animava era una illusione?
Per fortuna si tratta solo di una favola…..
Per fortuna si tratta solo di una favola…..
September 22, 2019
Bu J. Roth’dan okuduğum dördüncü roman. Onun üslubunu, tanımlamalarını, eskiye olan özlemi dillendirmesini, insanlara olan güvensizliği insancıl bir anlatımla iletmesini çok seviyorum. En başarılı romanı “Radetzky Marşı”ndan sonra biraz zayıf kaçsa da keyifle okudum bu novellayı.
January 2, 2023
“Birçok insan gerçeğin küçük bir kısmını bile öğrenemeden ölüp gider. Gerçeği belki de öteki dünyada öğrenirler. Ama bazıları, gerçekte ne olduklarını bu dünyadaki yaşamlarında öğrenme şansını yakalar. Olup bitenlerin çoğunlukla ansızın farkına varıp korkunç bir dehşete kapılırlar.”
“Gömülür ölüler. Onlar için gözyaşı dökülür. En sonunda da unutulurlar.”
“Gömülür ölüler. Onlar için gözyaşı dökülür. En sonunda da unutulurlar.”
August 1, 2020
Η μυθιστορηματική παραβολή του Γιόζεφ Ροτ βρίθει συμβολισμών, χρησιμοποιώντας ευθείες αναφορές στη χριστιανική Βίβλο και το εβραϊκό Ταλμούδ.
Ένα βιβλίο για το ερωτικό πάθος, την εξάρτηση από το αλκοόλ, την εκδίκηση ως στοιχείο κάθαρσης και τις ηθικές ακροβασίες.
Η αρχαία Βαβυλώνα ως μια νέα μεθόριος γη, στα σύνορα μεγάλων αυτοκρατοριών και ταυτόχρονα ως ένα νέο σημείο συνάντησης, αλλά και υπέρτατης σύγκρουσης -φυσικής και ηθικής- που αντανακλάται, τόσο η κατάρρευση των ηθικών αξιών, όσο και η αγωνία για την έλευση της Νέας Τάξης Πραγμάτων.
Αριστοτεχνικο έργο, αντάξιο του σπουδαίου Ροτ.
Ένα βιβλίο για το ερωτικό πάθος, την εξάρτηση από το αλκοόλ, την εκδίκηση ως στοιχείο κάθαρσης και τις ηθικές ακροβασίες.
Η αρχαία Βαβυλώνα ως μια νέα μεθόριος γη, στα σύνορα μεγάλων αυτοκρατοριών και ταυτόχρονα ως ένα νέο σημείο συνάντησης, αλλά και υπέρτατης σύγκρουσης -φυσικής και ηθικής- που αντανακλάται, τόσο η κατάρρευση των ηθικών αξιών, όσο και η αγωνία για την έλευση της Νέας Τάξης Πραγμάτων.
Αριστοτεχνικο έργο, αντάξιο του σπουδαίου Ροτ.
January 23, 2015
Depressing, depressing, especially in view of the fact that it was written while Roth, exiled in Paris to escape the Nazis, was himself dying of alcohol, but so very well-written.
May 18, 2015
"Het valse gewicht" is een soort sprookje (beginnend met "Er was eens"....) of allegorische parabel over de ondergang van een gewezen soldaat, die nu ijkmeester is in een verre en giftige uithoek van het Habsburgse rijk, en tot taak heeft om maten, gewichten en weegschalen te keuren van alle kooplieden in de streek. Alle gewichten zijn echter valse gewichten, en de ijkmeester zoekt vergeefs naar emplooi voor zijn rechtschapenheid en gevoel voor juiste verhoudingen in de hem omringende totaal corrupte wereld. Ook zoekt hij vergeefs naar de orde, kameraadschap en rechtvaardigheid die in het door hem verlaten leger nog bestond. Zijn gezin gaat aan ontrouw ten onder, een nieuwe vlammende liefde is vanaf het prille begin troebel en gedoemd, de toch al giftige streek wordt door bijna Bijbelse pestilentiën getroffen, en de ijkmeester verloedert geheel in wanhopige hulpeloosheid en totale dronkenschap. Ook sterft hij een liederlijke dood, maar tijdens het sterven heeft hij een soort visionair inzicht in de totale verrotting van de wereld en van zijn dubbelzinnige plaats daarin. En dat is al heel wat: "De meeste mensen sterven zonder dat ze ook maar iets van de waarheid te weten zijn gekomen. Misschien komen ze het in een andere wereld te weten. Maar sommigen is het vergund nog in dit leven te beseffen wat ze eigenlijk zijn. Ze beseffen het doorgaans heel plotseling en ze schrikken enorm. Tot dit slag mensen behoorde ijkmeester Eibenschutz".
Zo samengevat lijkt het weinig bijzonder, zelfs bijna een sentimentele draak. De ondergang van de ijkmeester wordt bovendien wel heel erg allegorisch neergezet, en die allegorie staat wel heel erg overnadrukkelijk voor de verrotting van de tegenwoordige wereld en voor de ondergang van ouderwetse rechtschapenheid. Dat is nou niet bepaald waar ik van hou. En toch vond ik "Het valse gewicht" weer een mooie Roth. Stijl en toon van het boekje zijn namelijk weer Rothiaans geweldig. Zie bijvoorbeeld hoe hij de ontmoeting beschrijft van de ijkmeester met een fatale vrouw: "Toen ze naar hem toe liep, had hij het gevoel alsof hij voor het eerst ervoer wat een vrouw was. Haar diepblauwe ogen herinnerden hem, die nooit de zee had gezien, aan de zee. Haar witte gelaat wekte in hem, die met sneeuw heel vertrouwd was, de voorstelling van een fantastisch, onaards soort sneeuw en haar blauwzwarte haar deed hem denken aan zuidelijke nachten, die hij nooit had gezien, waarover hij misschien had gelezen of gehoord. Toen ze tegenover hem plaatsnam, was het alsof hij een groot wonder beleefde, alsof de onbekende zee, een opmerkelijk soort sneeuw, een wonderlijke nacht aan zijn tafeltje plaatsnamen. Hij stond niet eens op. Hij wist best dat je voor vrouwen op hoorde te staan; maar hij stond niet op voor een wonder".
Geniaal, vind ik, vooral ook door de wijze waarop hier invoelbaar gemaakt wordt dat de ijkmeester getroffen wordt door emoties die hijzelf niet verwoorden kan. Hij wordt overweldigd door iets wat hem te boven gaat, en het mooie van deze passage vind ik dan dat die overweldiging niet wordt geanalyseerd maar wordt getoond, in al zijn vreeswekkende raadselachtigheid. Zoals ook de innerlijke erosie van de ijkmeester niet wordt geanalyseerd, maar wel heel treffend wordt getoond en voelbaar wordt gemaakt: "Hij voelde zich erg onzeker, erg onzeker voelde hij zich. Soms had hij het gevoel dat hij niet meer een mens was maar een huis, en dat hij in staat was de aanstaande instorting ervan te voorvoelen, alsof hij een huis was of een muur: inwendig barstte en verbrokkelde hij en hij voelde amper nog grond onder zijn voeten. Hijzelf wankelde, het hele huis wankelde, en ook de stoel waarop hij plaatsnam om te ontbijten".
In wezen is "Het valse gewicht" een sprookje over een rechtschapen iemand die juist door die rechtschapenheid helemaal hulpeloos is in deze zo verrotte wereld. Maar het is ook meer dan alleen maar een sprookje of allegorie, omdat die hulpeloosheid en de wanhoop daarover zo mooi en invoelbaar beschreven wordt. Ook is het ontroerend om te zien hoe de ijkmeester vergeefs poogt alles te ijken, en de verrotting van de wereld waarin hij leven moet wordt adembenemend verwoord. Ik vond ook dit kortom weer een mooi Rothje, mijn zesde mooie Rothje in korte tijd, en ik ben blij dat ik het gelezen heb.
Zo samengevat lijkt het weinig bijzonder, zelfs bijna een sentimentele draak. De ondergang van de ijkmeester wordt bovendien wel heel erg allegorisch neergezet, en die allegorie staat wel heel erg overnadrukkelijk voor de verrotting van de tegenwoordige wereld en voor de ondergang van ouderwetse rechtschapenheid. Dat is nou niet bepaald waar ik van hou. En toch vond ik "Het valse gewicht" weer een mooie Roth. Stijl en toon van het boekje zijn namelijk weer Rothiaans geweldig. Zie bijvoorbeeld hoe hij de ontmoeting beschrijft van de ijkmeester met een fatale vrouw: "Toen ze naar hem toe liep, had hij het gevoel alsof hij voor het eerst ervoer wat een vrouw was. Haar diepblauwe ogen herinnerden hem, die nooit de zee had gezien, aan de zee. Haar witte gelaat wekte in hem, die met sneeuw heel vertrouwd was, de voorstelling van een fantastisch, onaards soort sneeuw en haar blauwzwarte haar deed hem denken aan zuidelijke nachten, die hij nooit had gezien, waarover hij misschien had gelezen of gehoord. Toen ze tegenover hem plaatsnam, was het alsof hij een groot wonder beleefde, alsof de onbekende zee, een opmerkelijk soort sneeuw, een wonderlijke nacht aan zijn tafeltje plaatsnamen. Hij stond niet eens op. Hij wist best dat je voor vrouwen op hoorde te staan; maar hij stond niet op voor een wonder".
Geniaal, vind ik, vooral ook door de wijze waarop hier invoelbaar gemaakt wordt dat de ijkmeester getroffen wordt door emoties die hijzelf niet verwoorden kan. Hij wordt overweldigd door iets wat hem te boven gaat, en het mooie van deze passage vind ik dan dat die overweldiging niet wordt geanalyseerd maar wordt getoond, in al zijn vreeswekkende raadselachtigheid. Zoals ook de innerlijke erosie van de ijkmeester niet wordt geanalyseerd, maar wel heel treffend wordt getoond en voelbaar wordt gemaakt: "Hij voelde zich erg onzeker, erg onzeker voelde hij zich. Soms had hij het gevoel dat hij niet meer een mens was maar een huis, en dat hij in staat was de aanstaande instorting ervan te voorvoelen, alsof hij een huis was of een muur: inwendig barstte en verbrokkelde hij en hij voelde amper nog grond onder zijn voeten. Hijzelf wankelde, het hele huis wankelde, en ook de stoel waarop hij plaatsnam om te ontbijten".
In wezen is "Het valse gewicht" een sprookje over een rechtschapen iemand die juist door die rechtschapenheid helemaal hulpeloos is in deze zo verrotte wereld. Maar het is ook meer dan alleen maar een sprookje of allegorie, omdat die hulpeloosheid en de wanhoop daarover zo mooi en invoelbaar beschreven wordt. Ook is het ontroerend om te zien hoe de ijkmeester vergeefs poogt alles te ijken, en de verrotting van de wereld waarin hij leven moet wordt adembenemend verwoord. Ik vond ook dit kortom weer een mooi Rothje, mijn zesde mooie Rothje in korte tijd, en ik ben blij dat ik het gelezen heb.
September 8, 2023
Δεν με αγγίζουν οι ήρωες του Ρότ. Πολύ αξιόλογο και αυτό αλλά δεν θα πάρω άλλο. Πολύ καταθλιπτικός ειναι για μενα
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