Fear by Stefan Zweig

 I posting early because tomorrow I'm leaving for Florida.  It might take me a day to answer comments, but I will do my best.

Well, you can listen to it also, but this is what I was listening to when I wrote this review:  the Best Blues.

For the month of July I've been sending patriotic post cards.  Here are a few:

Fear by Stefan Zweig

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Fascinating psychological tale about a woman who has everything: wealth, good family, security, whatever she wants. She's not bored, but neither does she care about anything. She calmly drifts through her life. She has children. They are there, but they hold little interest for her. She lets the governess and her husband tend to them.

She's perfectly self-satisfied, self-absorbed and completely non reflective. Her whole life is taken for granted.

There's another man in her life. She doesn't love him, but she enjoys the attention, the time together. The fact that she's cheating on her husband doesn't come into consideration. She simply doesn't think about anything that does not provide personal gratification.

Then one day, she is leaving her lover's apartment when she is confronted by a hag of a woman who accuses her of sleeping with her boyfriend. The hag screeches and screams and demands money to remain quiet about it.

The woman is terrified and gives her all the money she has on her. The hag says it's not enough. She wants more. The woman promises more and rushes away.

This is turning point of a placid, selfish existence into one of horror. The woman cannot sleep or eat. Somehow the hag has found where she lives. No matter how much money she gives the women, it is never enough. The hag is an albatross. She can't escape her, nor can't stand up to her-she's not used to fighting battles.

The woman becomes haggard as time goes on, she thinks of ending her life. Telling her husband is unthinkable. She'd rather die.

This story was a torment to get through, because, even though I did not like the lady, she was so helpless before the merciless hag.

I will not spoil the story, except to say, it ends in an unexpected way.



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Hope everyone is safe and have a wonderful 4th of July.




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