Beware of Pity

The most exciting book I have ever read … a feverish, fascinating novel’ Antony Beevor, Sunday Telegraph’I can’t take any more of your revolting merciful kindness!’Who would have thought that the great military hero Captain Hofmiller – that living monument to his own courage – would have anything burdening his soul? But when he reveals his story, it is not one of bravery but tragedy: a simple blunder at a dance from which disaster grows, ruining lives with his weak, foolish pity… Beware of Pity is Stefan Zweig’s greatest novel, fiercely capturing human emotions in all their subtleties and extremes – while Hofmiller, his unforgettable, naïve creation, misunderstands everything, resulting in his downfall. Translated by Jonathan Katz. Previously published as Impatience of the Heart.