On the outset, 'The Road to The Open' is about a talented young composer suffering from a lack of inspiration. It is, however, a brilliant description of a slice of pre-World War I Viennese society, especially its intelligentsia. The novel dexterously showcases ‘fin-de-siècle Austria’ – the veritable Austria of the salons, cafes and musical concertos attended by the Viennese intellectuals and royals. It traces the thought process of an entire generation, spanning both Jewish and the Christian community as the nation prepares to enter the most turbulent period of German history. The imminent fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire would deepen the confusion of a nation as it loses itself fatally in a growing, far-reaching wave of nationalism and anti-semitism.
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