...we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." The subject quote, perhaps apocryphal, is attributed to the British Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Edward Grey, on the eve of World War I. Grey was a harbinger for the immense changes that would be wrought by this conflict; perhaps none were greater than for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, for which the lights would never be lit again, in one lifetime, or an infinity of them. Joseph Roth, who was a Jewish member of that empire, has written an excellent novel depicting life over the last 55 years of its existence, largely using the rise and fall of the Trotta family to accomplish this. During all these years one man, Franz Joseph, ruled over this amalgamation of ethnic groups, and he is depicted throughout. It was the assassination of the heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which was the proximate cause to the world conflict. The balance of power between the major European countries, that had maintained the peace on that continent for 100 years, unraveled, as the "logic of war" became the motive force, and the alliances, and, of course, "honor," dragged all the
European powers, and America as well, into a savage war that would take the lives of 20 million.
Roth has written a beautiful, complex, wryly ironic, and elegiac novel of the A-H Empire in decline. The novel's title is derived from a military band piece written by Johann Strauss to honor Joseph Radetzky, one of Austria's preeminent military heroes, whose long career spanned from the Napoleonic Wars to the Italian wars of Independence. The piece is repeatedly referenced throughout the novel; no doubt a thematic technique which reminds the reader of at least the perceived glory of the Empire with its current tattered state. The novel is structured around four generations of the Trotta family, with the focus being on the last two, since the first two are dispensed with in the first chapter. The Trotta's were of Slovenian peasant origins, and the one of the second generation established the subsequent fortunes by saving the life of the Emperor in the Battle of Solferino in 1859. Henceforth, he is known as the Hero of Solferino. Another ironic touch from Roth: no where in the novel does he indicate that this is a battle that the Austrians lost. "The Hero of Solferino" did have his own private honor, despite the awards that were heaped upon him: he was outraged about the distortions written about his actions that were used in school books, and he resigned from the Army over it. Roth makes a universal observation: "All historic events," said the lawyer, "are rewritten for school use. And to my mind this is proper. Children need examples that they can grasp, that sink in. They can find out the real truth later on."
Henceforth the novel concerns the "Hero's" son, who is forbidden by his father from a military career, but is provided a worthy position as a District Commissioner in Moravia, which is now the eastern portion of the Czech Republic. And it is his son, rigidly raised, as was the custom of the time and place, who joins the military, clearly an ill fit for him. The son manages to overcome his rigid upbringing, struggles against, but falls into a dissolute life, involving alcohol, women, and gambling. The women are foils, never depicted in their own right, and are either married and / or, what is today referred to as "cougars," that is, much older women. Numerous scenes are memorable, few more so than one which underscores the rigid social structure of the A-H Empire: the cuckolded sergeant meekly returns the lieutenant's love letters to his wife without a word. Roth's prose can be equally fresh and memorable. Consider: "...powerful forensic baritone it sounded like a gentle zephyr grazing a harp." Or, "And their silence had poured out a dark, dumb hatred, the way pregnant and infinitely silent clouds sometimes pour out the mute electric sultriness of an unspent thunderstorm."
I consider this a solid 5-star read for Roth's efforts in showing the A-H Empire in decline, including the various aspects of Franz-Joseph's dementia. Still there were portions that seemed irrelevant, or too lengthy, and the thunderstorm when the telegram is delivered concerning the assassination of the Archduke is dramatically overdone. And his depiction of the women borders on the misogynistic. Consider: "But some women are prohibited by nature itself from telling the truth -- the nature that prevents them from aging. Frau von Taussig may have been too proud to cover up three whole years. But stealing a single wretched year from truth was no theft."
There are a number of excellent reviews posted on this book, probably more than on any other than I've seen. I thought the book read quite well, and am in no position to judge the quality of the translation, so those who were, and noted various flaws, well, it was much appreciated. And I see nothing "nostalgic" about the novel, as Coetzee indicates, and gladly settle upon the consensus of the other reviewers that it is "elegiac." I don't think it was great history though, since it lacked that essential "differential diagnosis." Similar books could have been written about the decadence, and class stratifications in England, France, Germany and Russia before the "Great War," but why was it only the A-H Empire that collapsed, whereas the other countries were only "transformed," is never really addressed.
Ancient history of a far away place, or parallels with today for America? There is that astonishing waste of resources on non-productive military activity, and a tremendous mis-match of weapons with the real threat to the country. In Roth's novel it's swords and cavalry against machine guns and tanks. Now the reverse seems to be true: nuclear subs and jet fighters against guys with box cutters. And as symbolized in Roth's novel by the drip at the end of Franz Joseph's nose, there is the disconnection between form and the reality of meaningful governance; there are the amazing ways in which the governing class is distracted from the essential issues at hand. Well, at least in America we all speak the same language, more or less. Communicating with it is another matter.
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Annette Young
Radetsky March One of the great world classic novels
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 3, 2018
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