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The Radetzky March Joseph Roth Michael Hofmann 9781862076051 Books

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The Radetzky March Joseph Roth Michael Hofmann 9781862076051 Books

Late in the Civil War, in July, 1864, a small Confederate army under Jubal Early attacked Washington, D.C. President Lincoln watched the attack from Fort Stevens and looked at the position through field glasses. Lieutenant Oliver Wendell Holmes is said to have shouted at the president, "Get down, you damn fool!" Many years later, Holmes would serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.This alleged incident has become a famous Civil War story while most scholars doubt that it happened.

I was reminded of the Holmes/Lincoln story in the opening scene of "The Radetzky March", Josef Roth's great novel. During the 1859 Battle of Solferino, the young emperor Franz Joseph stands in front of the line and exposes his person to view the enemy. Lieutenant Joseph Trotta, a man of humble birth, jumps up, shields the emperor, and takes a bullet in the shoulder. He saves the emperor's life. The grateful Franz Joseph confers nobility on the Trotta family. Roth's novel tells the story of Trotta who becomes known as the "Hero of Solferino", his son, and his grandson. At one point in the story, Trotta objects to the embellishment of his role in history books given to children. The story becomes embellished in a way, perhaps, comparable to Holmes, who did not try to get Lincoln out of harm's way on Fort Stevens.

"The Radetzky March" was written in 1932 and constitutes a look back at the Austria-Hungarian Empire prior to its dissolution during the Great War. Most of the story takes place in the years before the outbreak of the War. Roth weaves the story of the Empire into the story of the Trottas. The primary character is Carl Joseph Trotta, the grandson of the "Hero of Solferino" who becomes an army lieutenant. His father, who becomes a high public official, the District Commissioner, is also an important figure. The "Hero of Solferino" himself appears as a great influence throughout the book but after the opening pages assumes an almost misty, legendary status.

The enoblement of the Trottas, meant as a reward of gratitude, leads to their demise. The three generations do not handle their status well. There is a rigidity in their conduct, an undue and awkward formality, and a lack of awareness on the part of each of the three Trottas of feeling and self. Culminating in the young lieutenant, Carl Joseph, the Trottas show a lack of commitment to the lives they have and a tendency to wander and to lack a sense of purpose in life. The individual stories of the Trottas mirror the history of the Empire which was large, diverse, and increasingly disunited under the aging Franz Joseph. In Roth's book, the Empire had ceased to exist as a cohesive entity before the outbreak of WW I. It had deteriorated due to its sheer size and diversity, to the rise of nationalism, and to the presence of many sharply competing ideologies.

Roth's book moves deliberately with characters, scenes, and places described in great detail. The book meanders, much as did the Empire. Roth describes the dull, unfulfilled life of Carl Joseph, primarily, with his lack of interest in the military, his brief affairs and inability to form a deep relationship with a woman, and his descent into alcohol and debt. The book describes many different places and people in the Empire from Vienna to small towns to remote outposts on the border with Russia.

The book has a melancholy, reflective tone. The author understands the demise of the Empire and sees its inevitability. Without overlooking its flaws and weaknesses, Roth is fond of the old Empire and the Emperor and its attempt to provide culture, unity, and stability for its broad component elements. He appears skeptical of the nationalism and individualism that virtually brought the Empire to an end before its defeat in the Great War.

The book can be read as a story of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and also as a story of the demise of other established orders or beliefs, political, social, or religious. The sense of the book, for me, is of the value of shared value and loyalty in the face of diversity and change. There is a sense of the value of cosmopolitanism in the book and of the Empire's stumbling attempt to bring a degree of liberality and unity to people of widely divergent backgrounds and beliefs. With the demise of the Empire and the rise of nationalistic, radical elements following the Great War, Roth had reason to be concerned. Perhaps, in a broad way there is a lesson in this book for our polarized, divided country as well. In any event, "The Radetsky March" in an outstanding, sad, and beautifully written novel. I read the book in this translation by the poet Michael Hoffman. Other translations are available as well.

Robin Friedman


Tags : The Radetzky March [Joseph Roth, Michael Hofmann] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Radetzky March charts the history of the Trotta family through three generations spanning the rise and fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Through the Battle of Solferino to the entombment of the last Hapsburg emperor,Joseph Roth, Michael Hofmann,The Radetzky March,Granta Books,1862076057,Historical fiction,Literature: Texts,Modern fiction,Fiction

The Radetzky March Joseph Roth Michael Hofmann 9781862076051 Books Reviews

In the awesome THE RADETZKY MARCH, Joseph Roth uses males in three successive generations of the Trotta family to examine the social and military ethos of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1859 (the Battle of Solferino) through the brutal beginnings of The Great War. In this period, the Trotta males are

o Joseph Trotta an obscure officer in the infantry with a peasant background who, through a quirk of fate, saves the life of the Emperor. In response, the Emperor elevates Trotta to the nobility and a sinecure in government. But this Trotta is uncomfortable with his apotheosis to national hero, which is a distortion and glamorization of a simple and spontaneous deed.

o Franz Trotta This Trotta, the beneficiary of his father’s fame and position, is a stuffy but respected civil servant in a small town and embodies the style and methods of the Empire. He is a true believer in both its social codes and well-ordered and hierarchical society. He means well. But he eventually regrets subsuming his responsibilities as a father within his role of government executive.

o Carl Joseph Trotta. The grandson and son, Carl is a lieutenant in the army in the waning days of the Empire. Through Carl’s life, a reader sees how the heroic codes and style of the Empire that his grandfather resisted and that his father embodied have calcified into dangerous nonsense and an obsolete political system that cannot survive.

In telling this generational story, Roth focuses on the relationship between Franz and his dutiful son, who tries but fails to find a fulfilling role in the Austro-Hungarian system. The scion Carl is a slightly passive but normal young man who has reckless, but still normal, adventures with sex and alcohol. But, from the start, Carl isn’t really up to his remote father’s expectations.

Roth uses a three-part structure in TRM to explore the dilemmas of young Carl Trotta. In the first, he shows the demoralized Carl growing up and trying to find a place in his father’s rigid world. The brilliant Roth ends this section with a tragic demonstration of the obsolete social codes of the Empire. In Part-Two, Roth transfers the innocent but louche Carl to a remote outpost near the Russian border, where alcohol, gambling, and an improbable affair nearly destroy him but also help him find his way. Part-Two ends with a show of the doddering Kaiser, still enjoying the pageantry of the army, operating as the head of state. In Part-Three, Roth shows a great social event that Carl’s military superiors think will both alleviate the boredom of a remote posting and affirm the stature of the army. Instead, this great event inadvertently reveals the divisions in the crumbling Empire, as the Great War, cold-blooded and arbitrary in Roth’s hands, begins.

Roth writes with lots of insight, is funny, and creates very rich sentences and descriptions. The dilemmas of his characters are fully persuasive and tied seamlessly into a great historical web, where their choices range from admirable to futile. THE RADETZKY MARCH, BTW, ends with a fabulous twist, which suggests that the Trotta clan was, in a way, a curse on the Empire.

This is a tremendous novel and maybe a masterpiece. Highly recommended.
Late in the Civil War, in July, 1864, a small Confederate army under Jubal Early attacked Washington, D.C. President Lincoln watched the attack from Fort Stevens and looked at the position through field glasses. Lieutenant Oliver Wendell Holmes is said to have shouted at the president, "Get down, you damn fool!" Many years later, Holmes would serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.This alleged incident has become a famous Civil War story while most scholars doubt that it happened.

I was reminded of the Holmes/Lincoln story in the opening scene of "The Radetzky March", Josef Roth's great novel. During the 1859 Battle of Solferino, the young emperor Franz Joseph stands in front of the line and exposes his person to view the enemy. Lieutenant Joseph Trotta, a man of humble birth, jumps up, shields the emperor, and takes a bullet in the shoulder. He saves the emperor's life. The grateful Franz Joseph confers nobility on the Trotta family. Roth's novel tells the story of Trotta who becomes known as the "Hero of Solferino", his son, and his grandson. At one point in the story, Trotta objects to the embellishment of his role in history books given to children. The story becomes embellished in a way, perhaps, comparable to Holmes, who did not try to get Lincoln out of harm's way on Fort Stevens.

"The Radetzky March" was written in 1932 and constitutes a look back at the Austria-Hungarian Empire prior to its dissolution during the Great War. Most of the story takes place in the years before the outbreak of the War. Roth weaves the story of the Empire into the story of the Trottas. The primary character is Carl Joseph Trotta, the grandson of the "Hero of Solferino" who becomes an army lieutenant. His father, who becomes a high public official, the District Commissioner, is also an important figure. The "Hero of Solferino" himself appears as a great influence throughout the book but after the opening pages assumes an almost misty, legendary status.

The enoblement of the Trottas, meant as a reward of gratitude, leads to their demise. The three generations do not handle their status well. There is a rigidity in their conduct, an undue and awkward formality, and a lack of awareness on the part of each of the three Trottas of feeling and self. Culminating in the young lieutenant, Carl Joseph, the Trottas show a lack of commitment to the lives they have and a tendency to wander and to lack a sense of purpose in life. The individual stories of the Trottas mirror the history of the Empire which was large, diverse, and increasingly disunited under the aging Franz Joseph. In Roth's book, the Empire had ceased to exist as a cohesive entity before the outbreak of WW I. It had deteriorated due to its sheer size and diversity, to the rise of nationalism, and to the presence of many sharply competing ideologies.

Roth's book moves deliberately with characters, scenes, and places described in great detail. The book meanders, much as did the Empire. Roth describes the dull, unfulfilled life of Carl Joseph, primarily, with his lack of interest in the military, his brief affairs and inability to form a deep relationship with a woman, and his descent into alcohol and debt. The book describes many different places and people in the Empire from Vienna to small towns to remote outposts on the border with Russia.

The book has a melancholy, reflective tone. The author understands the demise of the Empire and sees its inevitability. Without overlooking its flaws and weaknesses, Roth is fond of the old Empire and the Emperor and its attempt to provide culture, unity, and stability for its broad component elements. He appears skeptical of the nationalism and individualism that virtually brought the Empire to an end before its defeat in the Great War.

The book can be read as a story of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and also as a story of the demise of other established orders or beliefs, political, social, or religious. The sense of the book, for me, is of the value of shared value and loyalty in the face of diversity and change. There is a sense of the value of cosmopolitanism in the book and of the Empire's stumbling attempt to bring a degree of liberality and unity to people of widely divergent backgrounds and beliefs. With the demise of the Empire and the rise of nationalistic, radical elements following the Great War, Roth had reason to be concerned. Perhaps, in a broad way there is a lesson in this book for our polarized, divided country as well. In any event, "The Radetsky March" in an outstanding, sad, and beautifully written novel. I read the book in this translation by the poet Michael Hoffman. Other translations are available as well.

Robin Friedman