"Buchmendel" is a 1929 short story by the Austrian writer

Stefan Zweig Stefan Zweig ( ; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian writer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular writers in the world. Zweig was raised in V ...

. It tells the tragic story of an eccentric but brilliant

book peddler Book peddlers were travelling vendors ("peddlers") of books. This occupation had its peculiarities in various countries. United States Book peddlers and evangelicals in early United States In the country with no single "state-sponsored" religious ...

, Jakob Mendel, who spends his days trading in one of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

's many

coffeehouses A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargile ...

. With his encyclopaedic mind and devotion to literature, the Poland-born Russian-Jewish

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

is not only tolerated but liked and admired by both the owner of his local Café Gluck and the cultured Viennese clients with whom he interacts in the pre-war period. In 1915, however, he is falsely accused of collaborating with Austria's enemies and is dispatched to a

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

. On his return, towards the end of the war, everything has changed. His mind no longer remembers, his eyes can no longer read, the café undergoes new, brittle ownership, and his clientele have disappeared. Jacob Mendel finally dies, destitute, incapacitated and forgotten. Carl Spitzweg 021-detail2

What initially reads as another of the many modest human dramas that Zweig made his speciality, this small tale actually has a far more panoramic subplot, for it is a metaphor of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

's impact on Viennese life and culture. It is also particularly interesting to the historian for understanding the strategies by which postwar writers reimagined prewar Vienna, how they conceptualised the war itself, and how memory and myth deeply influenced their conception of history. "Buchmendel" was also translated as ""The Old-Book Peddler; A Viennese Tale for Bibliophiles", published in ''The Old-Book Peddler and Other Tales for Bibliophiles'', 1937, translated by Theodore W. Koch, published by

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, The Charles Deering Library, Evanston, Illinois.

References

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PushkinPress.com
English editions of Stefan Zweig's novellas and short stories * ''Jewish Legends''. New York: Markus Wiener Publishing, 1987. (Includes "The Buried Candelabrum"; "Rachel Arraigns with God"; "The Legend of the Third Dove"; "Virata or The Eyes of the Undying Brother"; "Buchmendel") 1929 short stories Jews and Judaism in Vienna Short stories by Stefan Zweig {{Austria-stub