Heimito von Doderer, The Strudlhof Steps (1951)

Look there's an elephant in the room, so let's get that over with first: yes, Doderer was a capital-N Nazi. This, unfortunately, is true. He joined the party in 1932, for reasons that seem a little obscure; no one seems to be able to say whether it was just because he wanted to get in with the Nazi establishment to benefit his nascent writing career, or whether it was actual ideology--but at any rate, a whole lot of people who would know testify to his disillusionment with the party as of 1940, and his remorse for getting involved, so, I mean. When his work started to appear in English, a lot of reviewers seem to have started from one point--"Nazi"--and used that to basically make up narratives for his work that simply aren't there. If you would prefer to disassociate yourself from anyone who was a Nazi, I understand. But to me, personally, this he's too interesting an author to pass up.  Also, I DO believe in redemption, even for three-time Trump voters, in the extremely unlikely even that they're repentant and willing to do their best to make amends, so come on.

Read more »