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

Rares Piloiu's book "The Quest for Redemption: Central European Jewish Thought in Joseph Roth's Works" explores how Roth's fiction reflects a generational interest in religious redemption among Jewish intellectuals of Central Europe. Piloiu argues that Roth's literary output seeks to recast moral, political, and historical realities in a new, religiously transfigured reality through the medium of literature. This quest for redemption is shared by an entire generation of Central European Jewish intellectuals who were disillusioned by modernity's secularism, rationalism, and nationalism and sought a radical solution in the revival of mystical religious traditions. Roth's use of the Chasidic notion of redemption was highly original in that it applied it to the secular experience of reality, seeking individual salvation within history.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 390 pages
\n Publication date: 15 September 2018
\n Publisher: Purdue University Press
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The Quest for Redemption: Central European Jewish Thought in Joseph Roth's Works by Rares Piloiu is a groundbreaking contribution to Roth scholarship, providing a fresh perspective on the author's major fiction by situating it within the context of a generational interest in religious redemption among Jewish intellectuals in Central Europe. Piloiu argues that Roth's challenging, often contradictory, and ambivalent literary output is the result of an unwavering attempt to recast moral, political, and historical realities of an empirically observable world in a new, spiritually transfigured reality through the medium of literature. This dynamic recasting of phenomenological encounters with the real is an expression of Roth's profound belief that, since the self and the world are in a continuous state of crisis, stemming from their separation in modernity, a restoration of their unity is essential to redeem the historical existence of individuals and communities alike. Piloiu further notes that Roth's pursuit of redemption is not unique to his work but rather shared by an entire generation of Central European Jewish intellectuals. Disillusioned by modernity's excessive secularism, rationalism, and nationalism, this generation sought a radical solution in the revival of mystical religious traditions, particularly the Judaic idea of messianic redemption. Their innovative use of the Chasidic notion of redemption was particularly noteworthy as they 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 becomes a quest for personal salvation that transcends the boundaries of history itself.

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Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781557538307\n \n