The Invisible Collection and Buchmendel are two of Stefan Zweig's most compelling novellas, linked by the theme of obsessive intensity. Zweig explores the nature of desire in showing us two lives led in the single-minded pursuit of art and literature, of existential truth against the background of a disintegrating and corrupt Europe. The tragic irony of these two contrasted destinies forces us to confront our own understanding of the purpose of life and art.
