The Confusions of Young Torless

The Confusions of Young Torless'between the life we live and the life we feel there is the invisible border, like a narrow gate' Set in a boarding school in a remote area of the Habsburg Empire at the turn of the last century, The Confusions of Young Torless is an intense study of an adolescent's psychological development as he struggles to come to terms with his conflicting emotions. Through his relationship with two other boys Torless is led into sadistic and sexual encounters

'between the life we live and the life we feel...there is the invisible border, like a narrow gate'
Set in a boarding school in a remote area of the Habsburg Empire at the turn of the last century, The Confusions of Young Torless is an intense study of an adolescent's psychological development as he struggles to come to terms with his conflicting emotions. Through his relationship with two other boys Torless is led into sadistic and sexual encounters with a third pupil which both repel and fascinate him. Estranged from everyday life, Torless gradually learns to accept his experiences and describe them with analytical precision.
The novel is based on the author's own experiences at an Austrian military academy. A school story with a difference, Torless extends the scope of fiction with its non-judgemental presentation of transgressive sexuality and violence. It is a profoundly disturbing exploration of a non-moral outlook on life and of dictatorial attitudes that prefigure the outbreak of the First World War and the rise of fascism.
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Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 03/01/2014
ISBN: 9780199669400
Pages: 208
Weight: 0.35lbs
Size: 7.60h x 5.00w x 0.60d