Moral Values and the Human Zoo: The Novellen of Stefan Zweig

Turner has accomplished a major contribution to the study of Zweig’s fiction. The rationale behind the book is to bring the Novellen together and analyze them according to the major interests of Stefan Zweig, thereby presenting the Novellen as a cogent, comprehensive portrait of the fiction. The author works seriously with the psychological aspects of Zweig’s writing without succumbing to specialized Freudian readings. Emerging from his close and systematic examination, carried out from a number of perspectives, is the mental inventory favored by Zweig, so that the reader learns not only how Zweig crafted his fiction to achieve certain effects, but also how Zweig was concerned about the troubled psyche of his time. David Turner’s insightful study is delightfully readable, making this a book that readers of Stefan Zweig can welcome and enjoy.