Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman

Rating:
Summary: What a woman can do in 24 hours...
Review: In this framed narrative Stefan Zweig explores the sudden impulse that makes a woman toss her respectability, peace of mind and a good lump of money out of the window. Compulsion, obsession and impulses are important themes in Zweig's works and you'll find plenty of it in this small and powerful book. If you ever felt the tug of passion (some may call it life) dragging you away to the ocean you'll adore this book. I certainly did.

Rating:
Summary: A Little Gem of a Novel
Review: Perhaps not as psychologically compelling and taut as some of Zweig's other work, this novella is still worth reading for it's fine writing. At a hotel in Monte Carlo in the days after World War I, a group of wealthy travelers are shocked to learn that a married woman of their set has suddenly left her husband and family on the arms of a seducer whom she has known less then twenty-four hours. Each guest chimes in with their opinion of the woman's extraordinary behavior. Our narrator expresses his understanding of the woman's actions while the others vehemently condemn the lady. Suddenly he finds himself the confidante of an older woman who is in the group. She tells him the tale of how twenty years earlier she too had been drawn to an intense younger man who she observed in the casino one evening. Zweig explores the motivations and the ramifications of a sudden act of passion.