The Whole Difference

Reviews / Votes

"Hofmannsthal, with no completed novels to his name, was probably always going to be severely handicapped. Of the three recent selections in English--a little sputter of interest from the last ten years that probably marks a diminuendo as much as a revival--only J.D. McClatchy's makes any sort of effort to represent him in his fullness and variety, with a clutch of poems, a couple of stories, some essays, the first scene from Der Rosenkavalier, and two plays: that comedy, Der Schwierige, and the risible late tragedy The Tower, in an equally risible translation by Alfred Schwarz."--Michael Hofmann, London Review of Books "This elegant anthology of key writings by the Austrian writer Hugo von Hofmannsthal provides Anglophone readers with an excellent selection of his writings... The choice of these plays ... is particularly praiseworthy, since they reveal the sophistication and cultural pessimism of one of the most talented and fruitful European writers of his time. McClatchy's introduction is concise and useful."--J. Hardin, Choice "We should be glad ... to be given back the literary works and plays that comprise this volume."--Mara Caden, Opera News "A fascinating body of work, and it's exciting to have it available."--Plays International "This book is well worth reading: it gives not only access to the key works of one of the most important German authors of the last century, and the most relevant literature written on him in English, but also clearly and precisely illustrates what Hofmannsthal's reputation was based upon!"--Eberhard Eichenhofer, European Legacy "This book will be especially welcome to scholars, teachers, and students of both Austrian and fin de siecle literature and culture. It should also encourage publishers and translators to make more of Hofmannsthal's works available in English."--Reinhard Mayer, Translation Review