Roland, a young student in Berlin, is sent by his father to a small university where he meets a charismatic professor of English literature. He lives in the professor's house, absorbing his teaching and noticing the strange tension in the professor's marriage. As an older man, the narrator, a professor himself, tries to explain what the relationship meant to him. Stefan Zweig handles the story as a confession, with the pace of a long monologue and delicate psychological detail.
It suits readers of short, intense German-language fiction and stories about mentors and the unspoken. It is a short work to read slowly.
Deep, inward-looking and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1984
- Publisher
- Fischer Verlag
- ISBN
- 9783596257904
- Language
- DE
