Огнената тайна и други новели

by Stefan Zweig, Стефан Цвайг, Димитър Стоевски (Translator)

През годините новелите на Стефан Цвайг са многократно издавани в различен тип сборници. По-малко известно е, че самият той е съставител на три сборника, в които е представил творбите си на тематичен принцип.

Първият, „Огнената тайна“, 1911, с оригинално заглавие „Първо преживяване. Четири новели от света на детството“, включва творби, посветени на съзряването и първите любовни трепети. Вторият, „Амок“, 1922, с подзаглавие „Новели за страстта“, съдържа 5 новели за драмата на изпепеляващите душата увлечения. В третия, „Смут в чувствата“, 1927, авторът е предложил 3 новели за противоречивите чувства, владеещи човешкото сърце. Сборниците са издадени за първи път от издателство „Инзел“, Лайпциг. Изданието на „Колибри“ в три тома следва оригиналното съставителство на автора.

Съдържа новелите:
Гувернантката
Огнената тайна
Приказка в здрача
Малка лятна новела

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Ebooks

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Stefan Zweig was one of the world's most famous writers during the 1920s and 1930s, especially in the U.S., South America, and Europe. He produced novels, plays, biographies, and journalist pieces. Among his most famous works are Beware of Pity, Letter from an Unknown Woman, and Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles. He and his second wife committed suicide in 1942.
Zweig studied in Austria, France, and Germany before settling in Salzburg in 1913. In 1934, driven into exile by the Nazis, he emigrated to England and then, in 1940, to Brazil by way of New York. Finding only growing loneliness and disillusionment in their new surroundings, he and his second wife committed suicide.
Zweig's interest in psychology and the teachings of Sigmund Freud led to his most characteristic work, the subtle portrayal of character. Zweig's essays include studies of Honoré de Balzac, Charles Dickens, and Fyodor Dostoevsky (Drei Meister, 1920; Three Masters) and of Friedrich Hölderlin, Heinrich von Kleist, and Friedrich Nietzsche (Der Kampf mit dem Dämon, 1925; Master Builders). He achieved popularity with Sternstunden der Menschheit (1928; The Tide of Fortune), five historical portraits in miniature. He wrote full-scale, intuitive rather than objective, biographies of the French statesman Joseph Fouché (1929), Mary Stuart (1935), and others. His stories include those in Verwirrung der Gefühle (1925; Conflicts). He also wrote a psychological novel, Ungeduld des Herzens (1938; Beware of Pity), and translated works of Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, and Emile Verhaeren.
Most recently, his works provided the inspiration for 2014 film The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Reviews

[Велислав Върбанов · Rating 5 out of 5]

Абсолютно прекрасен сборник! Четирите новели в него са заредени с много емоции и ми въздействаха еднакво силно. Стефан Цвайг е бил изключително чувствителен писател, разказвайки по елегантен начин драматични житейски истории...



„А силата на една любов винаги се определя невярно, когато я преценяваме само по нейния повод, а не по предхождащото я напрежение - по оная глуха и тъмна празнина от разочарование и самотност, която дебне пред всички велики преживявания на сърцето.“

[Alexandrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Първата ми среща със Стефан Цвайг премина много успешно!

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4* of five

The Book Report: Wet, drippy little Edgar, his bored, would-be glam mama Mathilde, and the louche horndog Count Otto meet in an Austrian mountain resort. Otto takes a fancy to Mathilde, since she's a visibly bored Jewess of a certain age. He decides he'll lay siege to her virtue via befriending little larva Edgar, who mistakes his overtures for real friendship because it's never occurred to him that adults lie, cheat, and steal in pursuit of sex. After revolting Count Otto thinks he's about to achieve the leg-over, he drops Edgar, and his troubles begin. Hell hath no fury, apparently, like a barely pubescent boy disappointed in love. What this nasty little child dreams up to do to the perfidious, selfish adults is really quite impressive! In the end, his life is completely changed, and one rather trembles at the path his future will take...*cue Horst Wessel*....

My Review: Peopled with deeply dislikable characters, and set in an anonymous vacation destination with no sense of permanence, it's a little hard to invest in the dramatis personae for a goodly stretch of time. I don't think I ever really did all the way. I don't care at all about anyone here, in that if each of them had fallen off an Alp I would've pursed my lips, tutted, and gone about my day.

But the story is a very involving one, paradoxically, because the nature of love comes in for a pretty thorough and fairly damning examination, one that would have seemed very risky for Jewish Zweig to conduct so openly in 1913, the year it was published. The love of mother for son, of son for mother, and mother for sex is explicitly explored. The love of any one of these people for anything is revealed in all its unglory as deeply selfish and terribly destructive, as my cynical heart believes love always to be. (Want to screw up a friendship? Fall in love with your friend! *bang* goes any hope of remaining on good terms...but I digress.)

A movie version of this novella, starring Faye Dunaway, appeared about 25 years ago. It wasn't very good. I am amazed at that, since Zweig's writing is so clear and simple that I'd think it was a shoo-in to have excellent dialogue come out of the characters' mouths. C'est la vie, as conventionally Francophile Mathilde would say...doubtless in a heavy Viennese accent.

So, okay, the point is: Recommended to Zweigers, cynics, and those with pubescent boys at home. Romantics, leave on shelf. "Life is Beautiful" and "La Traviata" fans, turn your backs upon. Multi-eyed, part-alien cyborgs, read and learn...this is what humans are *really* like, and it's not a terribly pretty picture.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

[Mark André · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intense and very well written, I read it in English. But maybe a bit long. The boy’s struggles tend to get a little repetitive. Three and a half stars.

[Jonathan Dunne · Rating 2 out of 5]

My life is no richer for having read this.

[Gery · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75⭐

[Maria K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Има автори, за които ти трябва точно една книга, за да осъзнаеш колко силно си влюбен в стила и мисълта им. Сляпо бих се сдобивала с всяка новела на Стефан Цвайг, щом знам, че е негова. Дори съм учудена, че ми трябваше толкова дълго време да се върна обратно към автора. Струва ми се сякаш беше в друг живот, когато прочетох за първи път "Шахматна новела".

[Cheng-Hsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant fabrication

[Bulu Iraddim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stefan Zweig’s “The Burning Secret” masterfully explores the delicate nuances of adolescence, love, and secrecy. At first glance, one might be tempted to draw parallels with Zweig’s “Amok” due to its themes of obsession and desire, but “The Burning Secret” ventures into uncharted territory, delving into the psyche of a young boy grappling with his burgeoning desires amidst the complexities of adult relationships.

The narrative unfolds with the innocence of youth juxtaposed against the dark undercurrents of adult manipulation and desire. Through the eyes of the protagonist, we witness the tumultuous journey of self-discovery and the dawning realization of the intricate webs of deceit that shroud the adult world.

What sets “The Burning Secret” apart is its profound exploration of the protagonist’s inner turmoil. As he navigates the labyrinth of emotions, there is a palpable sense of unease and confusion, mirroring the tumultuous journey of adolescence itself. The protagonist’s internal struggle is depicted with such raw honesty that it resonates deeply with the reader, evoking a myriad of emotions ranging from empathy to discomfort.

Zweig deftly captures the essence of adolescence, portraying the protagonist’s naivety and vulnerability with sensitivity and insight. The portrayal of the protagonist’s self-blame adds a layer of complexity to the narrative, highlighting the devastating impact of adult manipulation on impressionable young minds.

“The Burning Secret” is a haunting exploration of the fragility of youth and the destructive power of secrets. Zweig’s prose is as luminous as it is unsettling, drawing the reader into a world where innocence and corruption collide with devastating consequences.

In conclusion, “The Burning Secret” stands as a testament to Zweig’s unparalleled skill as a storyteller. It is a poignant reminder of the profound impact of adolescence on the human psyche and a compelling exploration of the darkness that lurks beneath the surface of seemingly idyllic lives.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Jewish boy and his attractive mother were staying at health spa luxurious resort
She quickly has been put *on notice* by the baron - seducer, womanizer, love affair's hunter figure
In order to approach the woman he befriends her son - just to advance the purpose of his *sport*
The youngster is excited and accepts the baron's friendship with the vigor.

Then baron skillfully exploits devotion of young soul and gradually succeeds to charm the Jewish lady
But soon the boy begins suspecting baron's ploy
He realizes that the baron used his trust and friendship simply as decoy
In being abandoned, hurt by sudden friend's betrayal, boy's naive childhood ends and he was able to foresee to which direction mother's love affair's heading

Intuitively young boy feels that her infatuation with the baron is really a dangerous mistake
To stop his mother from her falling into baron's hands, the son decides to do whatever it will take
Being suddenly matured, acting smart and wise,
He wins the battle, saving mother while depriving the seducer of his clever, shrewd and cunning effort's prize.

1. Memorable 5
2. Social Relevance 1
3. Informative 5
4. Originality 5
5. Thought Provoking 5
6. Expressiveness 5
7. Entertaining 5
8. Visualization 4
9. Sparks Emotion 5
10. Life Changing (Pivotal, crucial, determining, defining, momentous, fateful, consequential, climacteric, transformational) 2

5,1,5,5,5,5,5,4,5,4 ======>> 44/10 = 4.4

http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/51...

[Alex Falconer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zweig's distinct style and preoccupations emerge from this collection: he favours monologues over dialogues and his prose has a descriptive quality that recalls Poe and Conrad; the monologuers in his stories typically unburden themselves by recounting a tramatic and dramatic experience to an interlocutor. The following is a brief review of each story in the order in which the story appears:
'The Royal Game' is a good choice as the collection's opener because it's representative in style and conflict to most of the other stories. Unlike them it's firmly historically located in the period of the Anschluss and the peace following the war's end, and it's possible to consider the story a metaphor for the then emergent Cold War.
'The Burning Secret' is the best story and deserving of its place in the book's title. Its premise is original and Zweig builds the tension between the boy and the adults expertly. It's also one of the only stories that unfolds through dialogue and not monologue.
'Amok' is a tragedy with an awful but fitting ending. Its protagonist goes to remarkable lengths to prevent the discovery of a secret that would taint the memory of a woman he hardly knows. It scarcely seems believable until one reminds oneself that human infatuation can sometimes be instant and overwhelming.
'Fear' is the weakest story because, apart from the twist at the end, it's mostly predictable. It would have been a better story if Zweig had chosen a different ending. You'll see what that different ending could have been if you read it. The passionless, deceitful husband in this story is for me the most despicable character in the collection.
The closing story, 'Letter from an Unknown Woman', suffers from the implausibility of the novelist character, R, not recognising after two years a woman whom he spent three nights with and gazed at in daylight too. It's also easy to predict the central dramatic revelation the woman makes in her letter. But the ending is good because no attempt is made to tie it off neatly and predictably.

[Kafamdaki Makine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zweg’in öykülerini neden bu kadar tercih ettiğimi soruyorum kendime. Çünkü tahlilleri, psikolojik tahlilleri genel ve içimizde olan bir çıkış bir çok şeye dahil tek birini ele alıp olağanüstü demek imkansız ama her biri bir araya gelince bu hikaye yorumları insanı mest edecek kadar kaliteli bir o kadarda haz verici şahane olduklarını düşünüyorum. Zweig gibi akıllı bir adam anca bu kadar birbirinden ayrı ve hayattan bir şeyler aksettiriyor.

[Russell James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novella in which a naive young boy (too naive for today's taste?) is confused by a seductive man of the world who uses him to get to the mother. Some unexpected twists and a fine ending.

[Jason McCracken · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only read "The Burning Secret" not any "other stories".

Quick, awesome, brilliant.

[Ян Бибиян · Rating 5 out of 5]

Това е първата книга, която ме запозна с автора. Прекрасен стил на писане, потапяте във времето, в което е живял. Със сигурност ще прочета и други негови книги

[Yaren · Rating 4 out of 5]

çocuk olup her şeyi bildiğini zannetmek, aslında insanların sandıklarından çok şey gözlemek ama aynı zamanda yaşananlar hakkında bir fikrinin olmaması. güzel çerez bi kitap

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four fantastic short stories Zweig was a genius.

[Mimeto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Прекрасни новели, наситени с много силно изразени емоции, описани по много елегантен начин.

[Thepinkywinkyy The pinkywinkyy Winkyy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is beautiful and the event is very short, but with Stephen's touches, it is a little longer, which adds analysis and understanding of the thoughts of many of the characters and the child's wit and understanding of the intentions of those around him, and he is at this age I did not enjoy reading it, but it is considered a good book.

[Side Real Press · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no idea whether Stefan Zweig is better known now than when this edition was first published back in 1981. In the 1920’s and 30’s he was a big name, but post-war his works seemed to fall into abeyance. This, to me, seems unwarranted, as although in some ways his characters are largely very much of the Victorian school (rich, powerful, first class travel, cigars and drinks in the study etc) his works concern themselves with the timeless themes of love and loss, all showing great psychological insight and written in a concise style which is a pleasure to read. Zweig described these tales as “concentrated full size novels” a term similar to that used by his friend Arthur Schnitzler, who described some of his short stories as “little novels”. Schnitzler, who trained as a psychologist, has a more ‘clinical’ feel to his tales, Zweig’s are by contrast full to overflowing with humanity. Even if you feel that the characters are of a time and place, the meat of the tale still applies. They are all wonderful.

In ‘The Royal Game’ a chess Grandmaster plays against an unknown of extra-ordinary talent. This person learnt about chess without ever playing a physical opponent and the tale is about what it takes to keep one from going insane and the price that is paid for doing so. Obsession (of a negative nature) is the theme of ‘Letter From An Unknown Woman’ in which the authoress tells of her love (and interactions with) the recipient. ‘Amok’ is narrated aboard a ship carrying a doctor who is determined that his (failed) ‘duty’ to his patient shall be somehow mitigated, a theme similar to ‘Fear’ in which a woman who has also failed in her ‘duty’ to her husband is reaping the whirlwind as a result. The titular tale is in some ways a ‘coming of age novella’ in which a youth discovers he wields a power over his mother and her potential lover. What ‘the burning secret’ is, is obvious to the reader but the beauty of the tale is in that knowing, for Zweig uses the child as a means to explore the conflicting emotions (and how they play out) of the adolescent mind.

Each story is about sixty pages long, but the prose is so clean and refined that it both feels a lot shorter to read and the tales provide far richer fare than the page count might suggest. The Penguin edition also has an excellent introduction by John Fowles which gives an outline of Zweig's life and suggests reasons why his star might have waned. Whilst I believe his reasons are valid, I would like to add another; that many readers, especially English reading ones, by which I really mean UK, tend not to read much literature in translation; perhaps because there is already ‘so much’ written in English. Surely after forty years this has changed somewhat- the net allows us to buy books from anywhere we wish. Zweig, like de Maupassant, Flaubert, Dostoevsky, Kafka and Schulz should be on everybody's reading list.

NOTE: Pushkin Press appear to have reprinted all the stories in this volume but looking at their website it appears 'The Royal Game’ is called ‘Chess’ is NOT in the 'Collected Stories'; most confusing...

[Spike Gomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in a library garbage bin back in the 90s and only now am I getting around to reading it. Honestly, I would have savored it more at a younger age, not being so jaded as I am with literature now. What struck me at first was the editor's forward. I had never heard of Zweig before cracking this book open, and lo and behold I discover that he was apparently a literary giant in German literature of the 1900s through his suicide in 1942, on par with Hesse, Mann and other continental greats. He's fallen into deep obscurity in the English speaking world, out of print for ages at the time that this edition was published in the late 80s, and still only available through fairly small run reprints on Amazon today.

He's had more influence on movie-makers than writers, it seems. It's not overly surprising. His books are richly detailed with physical description and action. Overly so, to arch-modernist's tastes. If anything, I would venture that Zweig is a writer who bridges the gap between the stylistics of 19th century literature and 20th century psychological modernism. He approaches the uncomfortable ideas of female sexuality, self-aware childhood immaturity and male obsession with a precise manner and forthright honesty, but in the loquacious yet lucid prose that was already dated as he was writing it. His stories are well plotted, and true to life, but are written in such a manner that you always see where he's taking you, and what exactly you're supposed to feel in response to the nicely tied up end. There is much nuance... but very very little ambiguity. Only one of his stories "Letter From an Unknown Woman" ends with a sense of open-endedness.

Mind you, I'm not being heavily critical about these things. Goodness knows that we could do with more clarity in prose, and less ambiguity in meaning and narrative in this day and age. I'm just explaining why he's so obscure in the English and American Lit world. He offers a look at the other branch of a bifurcating path of modernism. One that offers perhaps a critical outlook on the excesses of passion, but offers forgiveness instead of condemnation for human failure, written in a style that is easy and approachable.

No, if I offer a criticism, it is because he spends so much time investigating an excess of emotion and obsession that it becomes rather one note, even in a collection of diverse stories. That and I do enjoy a little open-endedness. Leave the reader some ambiguity in the end. Still, and interesting read.

[Paul Jellinek · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandmother was from Vienna and Stefan Zweig was one of her favorite writers, which is prompted me to start reading him years ago. In terms of quality, this collection of about half a dozen stories and novellas is a mixed bag, probably reflecting his evolution as a writer over the years (the earliest in this volume were written before World War I, the latest during World War II). Zweig's style is clear and to the point (something in which he prided himself) but some of the earlier stories really do feel dated in a way that even some of the better 19th century writers don't, and in some there's a heavy overlay of neurotic angst that eventually got on my nerves. For those who don't have the patience to wade through the whole collection, I would recommend just reading his final novella (the first in this volume), "The Royal Game," which is truly outstanding.

[Xioma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it. Probably would have enjoyed more when I was younger. Nice stories, very human. Easy to read, and short enough.Very simple yet with certain magic that I really liked.