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.