Sleepwalking

Was unable to find a photo of today's hero, which may suggest he is not the most well known fellow in the world, but hero's do not have to be world famous (or even famous) to be heroes. Today's hero is one Hermann Broch, born this day 1886 in Vienna, Austria. Born into a prosperous Jewish family, our boy Hermann was destined to work in the family's textile factory. Being the dutiful son, he attended a technical school to train him to be able to take over the family business. He even managed to become married to the daughter of another rich manufacturer, and produced an heir. However, the marriage was not as joyful as it seemed, and Broch began to stray (the bounder!), and divorce was obtained in 1923. It was in the Vienna cafes that Broch meet the leading lights of Austrian literature, and begin to foster his literary ambitions. In the cafes he met the Austrian writer Robert Musil, whose Man without Qualities, Broch's own word was going to be considered the apex of early 20th century Austrian literature. He also meet a former nude model turned journalist, Ea von Allesch, with whom he had a brief affair. Throwing over the family business by selling his factory 1927, Broch began to study philosophy, mathematics, and psychology at the university of Vienna. All of this at the age of forty! I suppose there is hope for us late bloomers (of which I number), after all. He published his first book, which was began while he was imprisoned in a German concentration camp, at the age of forty-five. This was the trilogy "The Sleepwalkers," and is considered a piece of genius for its mastery of a range of style, and is cited by Miles Kundra as a major influence. He was saved from that concentration camp by friends, one of which was James Joyce. It appears that Herr Broch had some pretty famous friends, and had a profound impact on Austrian literature. His masterpiece is consider "The Death of Virgil," which concerns the last eighteen hours of the poet Virgil. It is a extremely complicated work, and not to be undertaken by the faint of heart. Forced to flee Europe by the Nazis, Broch eventually settled in the United States where the Death of Virgil was finished. So, for writing four lovely books that show a gift of different types of style, and for doing it in spite of his late start, thus providing hope for all of us frustrated, forty year old scribblers, Hermann Broch (November 1st, 1886- May 30th, 1951, at the age of 64 of a heart attack), you are my hero of the day.