Page 2 - Endless Flight News Today

VIENNA — It’s hardly the ruined, devastated postwar rubble that was the backdrop of the most famous film shot in Vienna, The Third Man. But in more subtle ways Europe in general, and Austria’s capital city in particular, is showing signs of deterioration.

Toward the close of Keiron Pim’s new biography Endless Flight: The Life of Joseph Roth, we’re told to imagine the great, complex Austrian writer in Saint-Sulpice, which he may or may not have visited. Its Delacroix murals, we’re told, “must have moved Roth’s soul.” But no, they mustn’t. Perhaps Roth thought very little of Delacroix or not at all. Undue speculation plagues the biography genre in general and this volume in particular.

Keiron Pim reveals how his biographical pursuit of Joseph Roth took him on a journey to places associated with his own personal history

Keiron Pim reveals how his biographical pursuit of Joseph Roth took him on a journey to places associated with his own personal history

This timely, impeccably researched biography details the restless brilliance of the mournful writer who fled Hitler’s Germany and sought solace in drink

The vagabond life of a brilliant but doomed European genius

Big Issue books editor Jane Graham's definitive list of the must read books you need to add to your reading pile this season

As he embarks on an extensive 50th anniversary tour, the British pop legend sits down to discuss the highs and lows of his long career.