Ever since I read Ostend by Volker Weidemann I wanted to read something by Joseph Roth. Ostend is about a gathering of authors, journalists and creative people in Ostende in 1936. Many of them Jews who felt the tightening grip of the situation in Europe. Mostly it is about Stefan Zweig and Joseph Roth. It is a gripping, but also a sad account of the times and the prospects for the future. I was happy to find his The Radetzky March at my local library.
"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, Roth's intelligent compassionate narrative illuminates the crumbling of a way of life."
A family saga over three generations of the Trotta family. It starts with Joseph in the Battle of Solferino in 1859. Joseph, the grandfather, happens to save the life of emperor Franz Joseph during the battle. As a token he is given the nobel title of baron, leading the simple lieutenant to a life he was not cut out for. Joseph remains faithful to the empire and dies in another battle. He is succeeded by his son Frans who becomes a lawyer and 'kretz president' a sort of local mayor. Raised in harsh discipline he finds it difficult to attach to other people, including his own family and only son. He is a loyal subject to the empire and that is his first duty. His son Carl Josef becomes a military man, mostly because his father expects him too. He has difficulties finding anything in life that is enjoyable and days are passing by without a purpose.
The story covers the time up to World War I. The family and empires embark on parallell lines. This is a time of raising nationalism and new ideologies took form. The old world crumbles both for people and empire. It is mostly visible in the grandson, Carl Josef, who does not fit in to either the old or the new world. Even the father, Frans, sees the changes at the end of his life, and is not prepared, or able, to do anything about it.
Joseph Roth's saga is a superb telling of a disappearing, shattering, stagnating world. He highlights it so well in the story of the Trotta family, mirroring the society around them. You feel the desperation of the times, people stuck with old traditions, and no way out, especially for the young people.
The family fathers themselves seem unable to come out of their own misery. All of them, raised by discipline and duty, very little emotional feelings like love and care, give you a sense of doom. From the very beginning you feel there is no hope for the family. Forever linked to the Emperor by a heroic deed, there is no way out. When the Emperor dies, the family dies.
Roth's language is absolutely beautiful and poetic. The characterisation is superb. The descriptions of surroundings, happenings or just everyday routines are so clear and visible, you see it in front of you. You are there sensing their feelings, the desperation, the duties, and, at least for Carl Joseph, a few moments of love and happiness.
The Radetzky March is not only a story about a family, it is a story about the last imperial order of an old empire. The title refers to Johann Strauss' Sr famous march (Op. 228) with the same name. Mario Vargas Llosa ranked it the best political novel ever written. With the times the novel has given Joseph Roth the recognition as "one of the greatest German-language writers of the 20th century." A highly recommended novel.
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