Master of the Day of Judgment: A Novel [Hardcover]

Leo Perutz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 1994

Attending a recital at the home of his former mistress and her famous actor husband, Baron von Yosch is declared the suspect when the actor is murdered later that evening, and sets out to learn the truth in order to clear his name.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Perutz was born in Prague, lived in Vienna and fled the Nazis to Israel, where he died in 1957. His work, which Arcade has been issuing in translation at intervals, has been admired by such writers as Ian Fleming, Graham Greene and Jorge Luis Borges. In this 1921 novel, the style is clear and brisk, the narrative technique assured, the atmosphere (pre-WWI Vienna) convincingly caught in myriad details. The narrator, Baron von Yosch, is a titled army officer who has lost his former mistress to an actor; he is with them at a chamber music soiree when the actor is mysteriously shot. Although the death looks like suicide, suspicion falls on the baron. Another member of the party resolves to solve the mystery and so, after first thinking to flee, does the baron. Other strange suicides occur during their search. The actual resolution, though highly intriguing, is less gripping than the search itself. Perutz reserves another surprise, however, throwing his macabre tale into a new light on the very last page. Imagining, if possible, a combination of the works of Conan Doyle, Dostoyevski and Kafka gives a fair idea of the tone of this weird little novel.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A casual account of an unexplained suicide interrupts a musical evening at the Bischoff villa, home of Vienna's reigning actor. As Eugene Bischoff finishes the tale, all in his small audience are skeptical except the military engineer, who immediately begins analyzing the mystery. His efforts gain urgency when moments later the actor shoots himself dead. Suspicion falls on the baron, a man of dubious character, but the engineer sets out to clear him. Chasing through 1909 Vienna, they find at every turn another baffling suicide. Only at great peril do they finally discover the fantastic impetus behind all the deaths. Though narrower in scope than other Perutz masterpieces (The Swedish Cavalier, LJ 7/93), this is a dark mystery as well crafted as any in the growing Perutz canon. Recommended for larger collections.
Paul E. Hutchison, Bellefonte, Penn.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 148 pages
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing; Ex-library edition (October 31, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559701714
• ISBN-13: 978-1559701716
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,615,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem of a thriller, sorrily underrated, September 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Master of the Day of Judgment: A Novel (Hardcover)

Literature is full of great authors that do not receive the praise they deserve, for all kinds of reasons. Leo Perutz is one of them. I can only urge you to try one of his works once, and "The Master of the Day of Judgment" is a good place to start. Its central idea is shocking and original, the writing is crisp and tantalizing, and the book, while short - certainly compared to today's massive thrillers, is surprisingly "finished". Valid excuse to, for once, shout in a review: READ THIS BOOK!!!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best author of German tongue in the 20th century, October 17, 1999

By 

Reader (Hamburg, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Master of the Day of Judgment: A Novel (Hardcover)

Leo Perutz is a true master of the German tongue, very powerful and strong. But he is also a great storyteller, something very rare in German literature. All of his novels are highly recommended. It is a shame they're mostly out of print. Read them, and start with this one.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece, no other word, December 23, 2002

By 

Xavier Lechard "lechardxavier" (Noisy le sec, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Master of the Day of Judgment: A Novel (Hardcover)

1909. Strange suicide plague in Vienna. Why do all these people kill themselves, while they have no reason at all to do so? Wouldn't be something - or somebody - else? Warning to impossible crime fans: one of the so-called "suicides" is a locked room.
While he - remarkably - uses Golden Age school's apparatus, Perutz gives here a book that is wholly sui generis. It could be a mystery. It could be weird. It could be both. Mystery fans will be delighted by intricate plotting, virtuoso use of multiple solutions and a totally unexpected ending. They'll also be delighted, along with others, by magistral recreation of a vanished world, quirky atmosphere and characters, and a reflection on time, art and reality. Yet in the end, the book's real nature remains a mystery. There's only one thing to know: it's a masterpiece.