Quest for Redemption: Central European Jewish Thought in Joseph Roth's Works

"The Quest for Redemption: Central European Jewish Thought in Joseph Roth's Works by Rares Piloiu fills an important gap in Roth scholarship, placing Roth's major works of fiction for the first time in the context of a generational interest in religious redemption among the Jewish intellectuals of Central Europe. In it, Piloiu argues that Roth's challenging, often contradictory and ambivalent literary output is the result of an attempt to recast moral, political, and historical realities of an empirically observable world in a new, religiously transfigured reality through the medium of literature. This diegetic recasting of phenomenological encounters with the real is an expression of Roth's belief that, since the self and the world are in a continuing state of crisis, issuing from their separation in modernity, a restoration of their unity is necessary to redeem the historical existence of individuals and communities alike. Piloiu notes, however, that Roth's enterprise in this is not unique to his work,but rather is shared by an entire generation of Central European Jewish intellectuals. This generation, disillusioned by modernity's excessive secularism, rationalism, and nationalism, sought a radical solution in the revival of mystical religious traditions--above all, in the Judaic idea of messianic redemption. Their use of the Chasidic notion of redemption was highly original in that it stripped the notion of its original theological meaning and applied it to the secular experience of reality. As a result, Roth's quest for redemption is a quest for salvation of the individual not outside, but within, history" --
Piloiu places the work of Austrian-Jewish novelist Roth (1894-1939) in the context of the search for redemption by an entire generation of Central European Jewish intellectuals who came of age in the first quarter of the 20th century, which represents one of the major paradigms within which modern Jewish intellectual history manifested itself. He discusses the Judaic dimension of redemption in Roth's work, the promise of redemption and the meaning of history, the via negativa of redemption in his early novels, his fiction of religious inspiration, his historical fiction, and the case of The Tale of the 1002nd Night. Annotation ©2018 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
The Questfor Redemption: Central European Jewish Thought in Joseph Roth's Works by RaresPiloiu fills animportant gap in Roth scholarship, placing Roth’s major works of fiction forthe first time in the context of a generational interest in religious redemptionamong the Jewish intellectuals of Central Europe. In it, Piloiu argues that Roth’schallenging, often contradictory and ambivalent literary output is the resultof an attempt to recast moral, political, and historical realities of anempirically observable world in a new, religiously transfigured reality throughthe medium of literature. This diegetic recasting of phenomenologicalencounters with the real is an expression of Roth’s belief that, since the selfand the world are in a continuing state of crisis, issuing from theirseparation in modernity, a restoration of their unity is necessary to redeemthe historical existence of individuals and communities alike. Piloiu notes,however, that Roth’s enterprise in this is not unique to his work, but ratheris shared by an entire generation of Central European Jewish intellectuals.This generation, disillusioned by modernity’s excessive secularism, rationalism,and nationalism, sought a radical solution in the revival of mystical religioustraditions—above all, in the Judaic idea of messianic redemption. Theiruse of the Chasidic notion of redemption was highly original in thatit stripped the notion of its original theological meaning and applied itto the secular experience of reality. As a result, Roth’s quest for redemption is a quest for a salvation of the individualnot outside, but within, history.