The Eyes of my Brother, Forever by Stefan Zweig Novella Review

The Eyes of my Brother, Forever by Stefan Zweig Book Review

Early in the 1900s, traveling was pretty popular. Stefan Zweig visited India during this time period. He liked the civilization, but was appalled at the stratification of social classes. Only in India was the caste system grotesquely  visible. This novella is set in ancient India. Zweig spend many months in India and got to know their history pretty well. The main character is Virata. He is from the warrior caste. At the start of the book, Virata slays his brother without knowing it. His brother had betrayed the king. Thus, it was Virata's duty to slay them.  This event scars him for life. He becomes concerned about doing justice to everyone. Whenever he felt himself being unjust to someone, he saw in their face the eyes of his undying brother.



In his quest for peace of mind, he travels across all social castes. This book gives you a good idea of the society of India. Eventually, Virata only found peace by living as an Untouchable. This is like a big "up yours" to the Hindu social caste system that denied Salvation to the Untouchables. This novella is really quite dandy. Zweig has a knack for trimming down the fat of all his stories. Thus, you will get a great story in less than 40 pages. Truly, Stefan Zweig is the best modern day writer. Its such a pity that he blew his brains outs. He lost all hope in humanity after seeing Hitler's victory streak.