Amok is a novella by the author Stefan Zweig. First printed in the newspaper Neue
Freie Presse in 1922, Amok appeared shortly afterwards in the collection of
novellas Amok Novellas of a Passion. As Zweig was fascinated and influenced by
Sigmund Freuds work, Amok includes clear psychoanalytic elements. It deals with
an extreme obsession, which leads the protagonist to sacrifice his professional and
private life and, eventually, to commit suicide.
The title of the novella comes from the Indonesian-origin term amok, which was
uncommon in those days. It refers to people who attack the enemy in supposedly
blind anger and try to kill the enemy as well as anyone else in their way, randomly,
without taking into consideration any danger.
In the novella, as in Moonbeam Alley, Zweig brings the altruistic concerns of the
protagonist into the forefront.