Uncertain if I will finish and post on The Old Man and Me by Elaine Dundy (which I am thoroughly enjoying) before the end of the day on this last day of NYRB Reading Week, I have decided to quickly plug my favorite NYRB classic to date - The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig. Read about a year ago, my impressions are a little fuzzy but not as much as with other reads that quickly fade from memory. Because The Post-Office Girl is a vividly drawn and intensely driven novel, one where the reader feels the devastation of wants and desires fulfilled then ripped away.
Christine leads the dullest, least satisfying life imaginable as a post office clerk in post WW I Austria. Money is scarce, she has to care for her ailing mother, she has little joy in her life. She is dragged down by her reduced circumstances that are captured in the stifling details of routine and bureaucracy. She resides in a world of grays and muted colors until her wealthy aunt writes, and offers Christine a chance for a holiday in a mountain resort.
The middle Cinderella part of the story hums with the energy and sparkle awakened in Christine by her vacation with her aunt and uncle, and exists as a social commentary on how poverty steals so much from life. But this portion of the novel is not the end and the conclusion returns us to a point of despair even greater then the beginning of the novel. The realization that her place in life is escaped only through deception, an abandonment of self. And then a realization that her place in life is inescapable. Haunting.
Have found it curious that many have complained that the final portion of the book seems out of place with the rest, that the novel would have been somehow better without it. I find the final portion essential in completing Zweig's portrait of the devastating effects of the war. The emotional ride Zweig takes us on mirrors that of the characters in such an intense way that a drive through to the end however harsh and unrelenting is required to portray the total loss of hope that existed for many at the time. Highly recommended.
My hope is to take up a few more Zweig novels next year. NYRB currently publishes the following titles by the author:
- Journey Into the Past (published this month)
- Beware of Pity
- Chess Story