The Burning Secret by Stefan Zweig

Here is another discovery:  Ivor Gurney:  A Gloucester Rhapsody

I really hit the jackpot this past week.  I went to my library to find that they were giving away a lot of their history books.  I began to help myself.  A librarian came out and I was embarrassed, because I was greedily and brazenly emptying the shelves.  But she told me to take all I wanted and brought me a couple of more bags.  All in all I got over 40 free books.  Score!

As you can see it is mostly American History.

But with some Russian History and also some books about the Middle East.

Berfore writing my review on Goodreads, I read another man's review of the same story.  I should have known I would not like his review, because his abrasive posts had already caused me to unfriend him.  So you will see that some of my review is colored by my reaction to the other review.


The Burning Secret by Stefan Zweig

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I'm somewhat nonplussed at some of the loutish reviews over this story. At least one of them. Maybe the reader has never known loneliness. Maybe he's an insensitive clod. Maybe he yawns over the fact the author took his own life.

Whatever the reason he found all the characters contemptible. I found this story moving and at times heart-wrenching.

The story centers around a young boy. He's twelve but mature-wise he's much younger, more like a nine year old. Probably that was normal back in a time when the culture wasn't so hyper-sexualized as it is today.

The boy and his mother are at a resort for the boy's health, which is delicate. You read that a lot in literature written before the discovery of antibiotics. We'd all be delicate back then; those of us that survived our infancy, that is.

The boy has always been introverted and socially awkward, not finding it easy to interact with his peers. This naturally results in a great loneliness on his part.

Then, he is befriended by a man at the hotel. He is an officer on vacation. At first the boy is surprised, diffident and then overjoyed at the attention this man gives him. Because I have worked closely with children, I understand how so little effort on an adult's part towards them has huge consequences in their life. Yet most adults throw this opportunity away, even with (especially with) their own children.

The boy becomes obsessed with the officer. His waking moments are to see this man, at the restaurant, everywhere. Because Zweig writes the thoughts of his characters, we gain such an acute insight into their motives, not only theirs, but human nature in general. Of course if you aren't really interested in other people you could find this style of writing uninteresting. Sorry, I'm still chaffed about that other review.

But the boy comes to a tragic realization. The Officer is, in fact, not interested in him at all, but instead was using him to meet his mother with whom he hopes to have a brief affair. A week long amusement to alleviate the boredom while he is on vacation.

At first the boy is heartbroken. Then he recovers. He's angry and his anger and hatred make him remorseless. His innocence prevents him from understanding what is truly going on, but he understands enough to realize he has a certain hold over his mother and the Officer. Both of them regard him with a certain fright because of how he could expose them.

The story continues and concludes, but I won't reveal anymore, in case you want to read it for yourself.

I wonder if Zweig himself was this young boy and his own hypersensitive nature is what compelled him to write stories like this as well as commit suicide.



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