Letter from an Unknown Woman and Other Stories

The only book I had ever read by Stefan Zweig is "The World of Yesterday," which is a fascinating memoir, not only of a man but of a time and place (Vienna at the turn of the 20th century). Now I see Zweig as a master of the short story as well. The best story in this collection is the eponymous novella, "Letter from an Unknown Woman," and, although written in 1922, it still packs a whallop today. The writing is exquisite and the story mesmerizing, but it is the unknown woman's quiet, yet all-consuming fascination with the young musician that grabs hold of the imagination and won't let go.What possesses her to give her life to a man she has only "met" on three rather mundane occasions? There's something very modern about this tale, even though it is rooted in the Vienna of Zweig's youth. I have ordered a copy of the Max Ophuls film (with Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan), which is also considered a masterpiece, and look forward to reading more of Zweig's stories, this time in the original German. The other three stories in the collection are also highly recommended.

Admittedly, I was attracted to try this book as much by the low price ($1.99, Kindle) as I was by the erudite and positive reviews. It is a collection of four novellas, written primarily in first person form. The most famous is "Letter from an Unknown Woman", which leads off the collection, but I truthfully enjoyed all of them. Written and set in the early years of the 20th century, the dialogue and settings are consistent with that milieu, but nevertheless timeless in their story lines. Each of them portrays, in different ways, a compelling event, character, or life lesson, with elements of tragedy, but not overdone in that regard. They cover plots ranging from the (literally) lifelong obsession of a young teenage girl through adulthood who is obsessed with an older man who happens to take an apartment in the same building as her family. Even though her family moves away, her obsession never wavers and her whole life, focus, and thoughts center around this 'man of her dreams,' who has no knowledge of any of this. It goes beyond the simple story mechanics and edges into observations of the human psyche, in a very enlightening, somewhat macabre, but also very readable approach. The other stories, in their own way, portray "life lessons' - not in a preachy way, but through simple dialogue, leaving the impression to the reader. I can't think of a better way to introduce a change of pace and reading style into your book list which provides so much in so little reading time - around 2-3 hours.

It is difficult to rate everything because as some things are just a matter of taste. How do you rate taste? This book is a typical Zweig. He has so many things to share with us. I still haven’t come a cross a book by Zweig that I cannot recommend.There are many hidden and obvious messages in this book that makes it worth while to read it.

The title story is great; its fame is well deserved. The Debt Paid Late was also an excellent story. The other two were dated and boring. Zweig is undoubtedly a great writer but I'm not sure if short stories are his métier. The Post Office Girl, a novella, was brilliant, though unfinished. His collected stories I got as a sample and the first two stories are dull. However there is a wistful fin de siècle quality to his work which I definitely will explore further

I hadn't heard of Stefan Zweig until interviews on Charlie Rose brought up his name. I was intrigued and went to the library. I was delighted with his prose and contacted Amazon for more books. This is a powerful writer and good story teller.

Beautifully written story.

This was a very good book. I saw the television version on the Decade Network. It was on Studio One, an old television program from the nineteen fifties that was done live to my knowledge.

I loved it my spouse thought it was so, so. His description of obsession in the characters was excellent. Of course its writing has to be viewed with the fact that it was written over 40 years ago. In the forties this was the basis for the movie "Letter from an Unknown Woman" starring Joan Fontaine.

One of the great mysteries of the European literature of the last century or so, is why Stefan Zweig has not acquired the fame and credit he deserves as one of the best writers of the last 200 years. For he belongs in a list of intellectuals who excelled both in fiction as in non-fiction output. To name only two, this list includes Albert Camus and George Orwell.Zweig does belong to that group, yet he seems to be always seen under a certain suspicion. My opinion is that fell between the "classics" (Tolstoy, Balzac, etc) and the "modernists", such as Conrad and Joyce.The recent accolades after the new translation of his major fiction works, only make partial justice to an essential writer."Letter from an Unknown Woman" is a superb work of fiction - brave, original, shockingly short yet large in content. As a bonus, it inspired one of the best movies ever made. As for the rest of the stories of this brief book (one of a mere four pages), they are exemplary, sad, and - yet again - exceptionally well written. This is pure literature.A special comment of the translator, Ms Anthea Bell. After her magnificent work of another of Zweig's novels - his longest - in the same collection (Beware of Pity), these four stories are superbly rendered into English, at the same time keeping the inter-war era elegant language and overall mystery of the original, while managing to present the tales fully accessible.

I am a slow reader but to prove that this book is magical, I read it in about an hour. It's so well written, so beautifully described that I simply couldn' t put it away!

very good thx I am happy thx you good good very good tnx I am happy to have this book

Es handelt sich um Kurzgeschichten. Die Hauptgeschichte ist ein sehr mitfühlender Kurzroman über das Bekenntnis eine sterbenden Mutter an den Vater des kürzlich verstorbenen gemeinsamen Sohnes, vom der er nicht wusste. Sie beschreibt, dass sie ihn immer schon geliebt hae, aber auf eine sehr schöne und nicht tränendrüsendrückende WEise. Auch in der KG STory told by twilight geht es umLiebe, diesmal eines jungen Knaben zu einer unbekannten Schönen, für die er sich in Lebensgefahr begibt.Der Stil erinnert manchmal ein bisschen an Oscar Wilde. Es liest sich sehr gut und man möchte immer noch etwas aufheben.

I was motivated to read Letter From An Unknown Woman and Other Stories because my mother recommended it to me.Stefan Zweig was a wonderful novelist and a tragic figure,but he has left a diamond legacy with his literary work.This short story is very classily written and draws the reader into a shadowy world which is both beautiful and sad.I throroughly enjoyed this work;the first story describes the unrequited passion of a young girl who lived in Vienna in pre Second World War days,with her mother.The girl becomes besotted with her author neighbour and observes him from afar(what these days would be termed as stalking)and it takes on a new meaning in the book. The author comes across as a selfish male figure,but the quality of Zweig's writing is so immaculate that the story does not come over as at all disturbing.Recommended reading.