Baron Bagge Count Luna (Eridanos Press Library, No 11)

Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Novella
Review: The Austrian writer Alexander Lernet-Holenia (1897-1976) was an imperial officer and nobleman, before he turned his interest to literature and became the author of numerous novels, plays and short stories. His work focuses on the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The novella "Baron Bagge" was first published in Berlin 1936. The story takes place in World War I, the year of 1915. The Austrian cavalry offensive in the East front is in full progress, and Baron Bagge is a soldier in a rider squadron led by captain Semler. Military action takes them to a remote region in Hungary. Under a looming sky and with a strong foreboding of imminent danger the cavalry unit patrols a border strip close to the front sector. Though Baron Bagge cautions his group, his superior captain Semler pushes forward. As they are approaching a small village their unit catches enemy fire. The men press their horses and seem to make it into the safety of the village...
A densely atmospheric story with a powerful ending. (Readers: Throw away jacket sleeve, which blabbers away the plot.)
A masterpiece!

Rating:
Summary: Unquestionably One of the Finest 20th Century Writers
Review: The world's great writers have always been capable of establishing an unforgettable mood in their works, of combining imagery and plot to create pieces of enduring value. This is no less true of Alexander Lernet-Holenia. More than any other writer of the last century, Lernet-Holenia possessed that indefinable quality that makes his writing an experience both of mind and spirit, the ability to know the human being for what he really is and to provide this knowledge in a literary form that is both enoyable to read and profoundly enlightening to encounter. Chekhov, Faulkner, Joyce, Mann, and Proust are some of the geniuses who gave us life in all its magnificent eloquence and sordidness, who set down in words that superb juxtaposition of beauty and hideousness that constitutes the world we live in and the resulting struggle that humans are constantly engaged with as they are buffeted by these incessant forces. In two novellas, Lernet-Holenia reveals to us the kind of talent that truly makes him the kind of writer who will be read for as long as civilized men exist. There is no reason to repeat what the reviewer above has written about the plots of these two superb stories, as this has been admirably accomplished. But, in closing, I do urge any readers of this review to get a copy of this astonishing book. If you know the difference between good and great, you will be forever thankful you were introduced to Alexander Lernet-Holenia.