Reviews

Late Fame by Arthur Schnitzler, Alexander Starritt

three_martini_lunch's review against another edition

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emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

averykaineclark's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

An elegant and darkly funny story that should be read by all would-be artists who think talking about art is more important than art, and how we really don't change a whole lot as we age, and how the world around us stays the same in more ways than we might think.

penciledpage's review against another edition

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In Late Fame, we meet Eduard Saxberger, an older man who lives quietly in Vienna and works as a civil servant. When his writings are rediscovered by a young literary group, he wonders if he is a poet after all. Can he recapture his youthful dream?

Read my full review here.

rclyburn's review against another edition

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My favourite part is when Saxberger is walking along the Danube despairing of ever writing a phrase and the passage is ironically written in this beautiful, poetic language. You just want to pull the words off the page and shove them in Saxberger's face.

alexiacambaling's review against another edition

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lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No

4.0

rbrtsorrell's review against another edition

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4.0

A hilarious, occasionally tender send-up of turn of the century Vienna. I reviewed the novella for the Cleaver Magazine, here: https://www.cleavermagazine.com/late-fame-a-novella-by-arthur-schnitzler-reviewed-by-robert-sorrell/

kinginthedork's review

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4.0

Ultra relatable, will probably happen to me in the future

bergenslabben's review

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reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

extemporalli's review

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4.0

What a fucking good sad/funny little book!!! Edward Saxberger, a man in the mid-autumn of life, arrives home from the office one evening to find a young poet at his door. The poetry collection he published as a youth has been met with considerable acclaim amongst the young poets' circle, and Edward S. rediscovers his artistic proclivities - and his artistic ego - as he's drawn into the milieu of young artists and thinkers, all of whom worship him. Funny because Schnitzler is relentless about puncturing the artistic pretensions of his characters (the circle was apparently based on the collective Schnitzler was himself a part of), tragic because Saxberger doesn't know how to explain getting older, getting a job, and losing interest in poetry to these bright young things. Despite Schnitzler's joyous savagery (that last twist!! haha), I essentially felt this was a kind-hearted tale that set Saxberger down quite gently where he began. A great introduction to Schnitzler's work.

jamescd's review

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challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

4.5