Now available for the first time in English, this important addition to the Roth canon is rich in irony and exemplary of Roth's keen powers of social and political observation
A novel fragment that was discovered among Joseph Roth's papers decades after his death, this book chronicles the life and times of Alexander Perlefter, the well-to-do Austrian urbanite with whom his relative, a small-town narrator, Naphthali Kroj, has come to live after becoming orphaned. The colorful cast of characters includes Perlefter's four children: foolish Alfred, with his predilection for sleeping with servant girls and widows and boasting of the venereal diseases he contracts; the hapless Karoline, whose interest in math and physics and employment at a scientific institute seem to repel serious suitors; the flamboyant Julie, a sweet, pale, and anemic girl who likes any man who is inclined toward marriage; and the beautiful and flighty Margarete, besotted with a professor of history. Written circa 1928-30, Perlefter represents Joseph Roth at the very peak of his literary powers--it was penned just after the publication of "The Silent Prophet" and just before his masterpieces" Job" and "The Radetzky March."
- ISBN10 8027314380
- ISBN13 9788027314386
- Publish Date 5 April 2018 (first published 9 October 2012)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country CZ
- Imprint e-artnow
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 56
- Language English