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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
Dreams and fairy stories were the real stuff of her life, I thought. That was why she killed herself, because a person who life is built on dreams and fairy stories can't survive in this world - has no right to survive, I thought.
(Espen Terjesen)
If we cannot become what we want to become, we resort to another person - inevitably the person closest to us - and make of him what we have been unable to make of ourselves.
Read in July in Vienna on the perfect moment, almost impossible to make any progress without tumbling out and slowly crawling back to another chunk of variation in Bernhard’s dense, continuous monologue while trying to ignore the bickering of the grumpy son and daughter in the blazing summer heat, maximising the experience of immersing in Bernhard’s ravenous rage and corrosive moodiness. No better cure for one’s own irritability than the funhouse mirror.
(Espen Terjesen)
If we cannot become what we want to become, we resort to another person - inevitably the person closest to us - and make of him what we have been unable to make of ourselves.
Read in July in Vienna on the perfect moment, almost impossible to make any progress without tumbling out and slowly crawling back to another chunk of variation in Bernhard’s dense, continuous monologue while trying to ignore the bickering of the grumpy son and daughter in the blazing summer heat, maximising the experience of immersing in Bernhard’s ravenous rage and corrosive moodiness. No better cure for one’s own irritability than the funhouse mirror.
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Epigram:
Being unable to make people more reasonable,
I preferred to be happy away from them. (Voltaire)
Bernhard was on my to-read list for as long as I can remember, and I finally got to read one of his novels, on a whim that is. I picked up Woodcutters, and as I finished it and read about it on web, I found out that Harold Bloom stated this novel is Bernhard's masterpiece.
Whatever the case, it's very likely that I'll read all of this books, hopefully within a year or two.
I loved this novel immensely.
Two things first: I think there are two unique forms of this novel that I also find in my favorite books by Bolano and Isherwood.
1) Both for this novel and Isherwood's A Single Man, the entire narrative takes place in a single day. However, this one single day is more than enough to enact the portrayal of the narrator's entire life.
2) Both for this novel and Bolano's By Night in Chile, the novel is composed of one single paragraph, meaning that the pages are filled with blocks of texts without once the writers pressing "enter" button on keyboard as they were writing.
The latter idiosyncrasy is justified when the narrative is a ranting monologue. In this novel, it's a novelist (age 52) going to a dinner party during which he hates everything and everybody, including himself. I can't understand why he accepted the invitation, he reminisces the past and hates what he had done and how other guests had treated him, he hates the state of the society, the state of the art. It is quite a wonder how this novel works supremely well, but it does. The ending, although it doesn't resolve anything, brings an immense satisfaction, with wry humor.
This one sentence may sum up the theme:
"To get ourselves out of a tight spot, it seems to me, we are ourselves just as mendacious as those we are always accusing of mendacity, those whom we despise and drag in the dirt for their mendacity; we are not one jot better than the people we constantly find objectionable and insufferable, those repellent people with whom we want to have as few dealings as possible, though, if we are honest, we do have dealings with them and are no different from them. We reproach them with all kinds of objectionable and insufferable behavior and are no less insufferable and objectionable ourselves--perhaps we are even more insufferable and objectionable, it occurs to me" (178)
What I liked about this novel is the direct honesty of the narrator, which is possible because the rant goes on only in his head. At times, this single-paragraph novel may seem frustration, you get use to it and it actually flows better in this situation.
Incessant repetitiveness...
Living as a woodcutter in the wild as a ideal life..
Personal notes:
Very strong sense of nihilism embedded in the prose
Hatred
Page 94 = library parts (building a library to show one's pseudo intellect
The way he pronounced the words potato salad to the waitress in the Iron Hand almost made me want to vomit.
It's unrelievedly depressing to see what they've made of themselves, what I've made of myself.
If we cannot become what we want to become, we resort to another person--inevitably the person closest to us--and make of him what we have been unable to make of ourselves, Joana had probably thought, and so, I think, she fashioned Fritz into this colossal work of art which finally crushed and destroyed her.
But obviously nobody takes an idea like this seriously, even though of course such ideas, which are not taken seriously, are actually the only serious ideas and always will be.
Where there was once a copse or a thicket, where a garden once blossomed in spring and its glorious colors faded in the fall, there is now a rank growth of the concrete tumors beloved of our modern age, which no longer has any thought for landscape or nature, but is consumed by politically motivated greed and by the base proletarian mania for concrete, I thought, sitting in the wing chair.
For a long time we see only one side of a person's personality, because for reasons of self-preservation we do not wish to see any other, I thought, then suddenly we see all sides of their personality and are disgusted by them, I thought.
All Austrian artists end up letting themselves be bought out by the state for its nefarious purposes, selling themselves to this vile, unprincipled, execrable state, and most of them start off that way.
To get ourselves out of a tight spot, it seems to me, we are ourselves just as mendacious as those we are always accusing of mendacity, those whom we despise and drag in the dirt for their mendacity; we are not one jot better than the people we constantly find objectionable and insufferable, those repellent people with whom we want to have as few dealings as possible, though, if we are honest, we do have dealings with them and are no different from them. (178)
Being unable to make people more reasonable,
I preferred to be happy away from them. (Voltaire)
Bernhard was on my to-read list for as long as I can remember, and I finally got to read one of his novels, on a whim that is. I picked up Woodcutters, and as I finished it and read about it on web, I found out that Harold Bloom stated this novel is Bernhard's masterpiece.
Whatever the case, it's very likely that I'll read all of this books, hopefully within a year or two.
I loved this novel immensely.
Two things first: I think there are two unique forms of this novel that I also find in my favorite books by Bolano and Isherwood.
1) Both for this novel and Isherwood's A Single Man, the entire narrative takes place in a single day. However, this one single day is more than enough to enact the portrayal of the narrator's entire life.
2) Both for this novel and Bolano's By Night in Chile, the novel is composed of one single paragraph, meaning that the pages are filled with blocks of texts without once the writers pressing "enter" button on keyboard as they were writing.
The latter idiosyncrasy is justified when the narrative is a ranting monologue. In this novel, it's a novelist (age 52) going to a dinner party during which he hates everything and everybody, including himself. I can't understand why he accepted the invitation, he reminisces the past and hates what he had done and how other guests had treated him, he hates the state of the society, the state of the art. It is quite a wonder how this novel works supremely well, but it does. The ending, although it doesn't resolve anything, brings an immense satisfaction, with wry humor.
This one sentence may sum up the theme:
"To get ourselves out of a tight spot, it seems to me, we are ourselves just as mendacious as those we are always accusing of mendacity, those whom we despise and drag in the dirt for their mendacity; we are not one jot better than the people we constantly find objectionable and insufferable, those repellent people with whom we want to have as few dealings as possible, though, if we are honest, we do have dealings with them and are no different from them. We reproach them with all kinds of objectionable and insufferable behavior and are no less insufferable and objectionable ourselves--perhaps we are even more insufferable and objectionable, it occurs to me" (178)
What I liked about this novel is the direct honesty of the narrator, which is possible because the rant goes on only in his head. At times, this single-paragraph novel may seem frustration, you get use to it and it actually flows better in this situation.
Incessant repetitiveness...
Living as a woodcutter in the wild as a ideal life..
Personal notes:
Very strong sense of nihilism embedded in the prose
Hatred
Page 94 = library parts (building a library to show one's pseudo intellect
The way he pronounced the words potato salad to the waitress in the Iron Hand almost made me want to vomit.
It's unrelievedly depressing to see what they've made of themselves, what I've made of myself.
If we cannot become what we want to become, we resort to another person--inevitably the person closest to us--and make of him what we have been unable to make of ourselves, Joana had probably thought, and so, I think, she fashioned Fritz into this colossal work of art which finally crushed and destroyed her.
But obviously nobody takes an idea like this seriously, even though of course such ideas, which are not taken seriously, are actually the only serious ideas and always will be.
Where there was once a copse or a thicket, where a garden once blossomed in spring and its glorious colors faded in the fall, there is now a rank growth of the concrete tumors beloved of our modern age, which no longer has any thought for landscape or nature, but is consumed by politically motivated greed and by the base proletarian mania for concrete, I thought, sitting in the wing chair.
For a long time we see only one side of a person's personality, because for reasons of self-preservation we do not wish to see any other, I thought, then suddenly we see all sides of their personality and are disgusted by them, I thought.
All Austrian artists end up letting themselves be bought out by the state for its nefarious purposes, selling themselves to this vile, unprincipled, execrable state, and most of them start off that way.
To get ourselves out of a tight spot, it seems to me, we are ourselves just as mendacious as those we are always accusing of mendacity, those whom we despise and drag in the dirt for their mendacity; we are not one jot better than the people we constantly find objectionable and insufferable, those repellent people with whom we want to have as few dealings as possible, though, if we are honest, we do have dealings with them and are no different from them. (178)
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
ეს რა სისულელე წიგნია მეთქი, ვფიქრობდი უყურო სავარძელში მჯდომი
რამდენჯერ იმეორებს მეთქი ერთსა და იმავეს, ვფიქრობდი უყურო სავარძელში მჯდომი
ტვინი წაიღო მეთქი ამ კაცის სიძულვილმა, ვფიქრობდი უყურო სავარძელში მჯდომი
კიდევ ერთხელ გაიმეორებს ფრაზას "ვფიქრობდი ყურებიან სავარძელში მჯდომი" (როდესაც მხოლოდ მეათედ ჰქონდა ჯერ ნათქვამი) და პირველი წიგნი იქნება, რომელიც გადავდე და ბოლომდე არ წამიკითხავს მეთქი, ვფიქრობდი უყურო სავარძელში მჯდომი
ამ ავტორის წიგნს აღარასოდეს წავიკითხავ მეთქი, ვფიქრობდი უყურო სავარძელში მჯდომი
როდის გავალ მეთქი ბოლოში, ვფიქრობდი უყურო სავარძელში მჯდომი
სული მეხუთება და დავიტანჯე მეთქი უკვე, ვფიქრობდი უყურო სავარძელში მჯდომი
და ბოლოს უკვე ბურგთეატრის მსახიობთან ერთად მეც ავფექთდი და შვება ვიგრძენი.
ერთ-ერთი საუკეთესო გამოცდილება იყო კითხვისას.
გადავჯექი კომპიუტერთან და ვიჯექი და ვიჯექი ვფიქრობდი, დაუყონვებლივ დავწერ ამ ეგრეთ წოდებულ წიგნზე რამეს, სულერთია რას, მაგრამ ამ წიგნზე ახლავე და დაუყოვნელივ დავწერ-მეთქი, დაუყოვნებლივ, ახლავე-მეთქი, ვიმეორებდი და ვიჯექი, ახლავე და დაუყოვნებლივ და ახლავე და ახლავე, სანამ ჯერ კიდევ არ არის გვიან
რამდენჯერ იმეორებს მეთქი ერთსა და იმავეს, ვფიქრობდი უყურო სავარძელში მჯდომი
ტვინი წაიღო მეთქი ამ კაცის სიძულვილმა, ვფიქრობდი უყურო სავარძელში მჯდომი
კიდევ ერთხელ გაიმეორებს ფრაზას "ვფიქრობდი ყურებიან სავარძელში მჯდომი" (როდესაც მხოლოდ მეათედ ჰქონდა ჯერ ნათქვამი) და პირველი წიგნი იქნება, რომელიც გადავდე და ბოლომდე არ წამიკითხავს მეთქი, ვფიქრობდი უყურო სავარძელში მჯდომი
ამ ავტორის წიგნს აღარასოდეს წავიკითხავ მეთქი, ვფიქრობდი უყურო სავარძელში მჯდომი
როდის გავალ მეთქი ბოლოში, ვფიქრობდი უყურო სავარძელში მჯდომი
სული მეხუთება და დავიტანჯე მეთქი უკვე, ვფიქრობდი უყურო სავარძელში მჯდომი
და ბოლოს უკვე ბურგთეატრის მსახიობთან ერთად მეც ავფექთდი და შვება ვიგრძენი.
ერთ-ერთი საუკეთესო გამოცდილება იყო კითხვისას.
გადავჯექი კომპიუტერთან და ვიჯექი და ვიჯექი ვფიქრობდი, დაუყონვებლივ დავწერ ამ ეგრეთ წოდებულ წიგნზე რამეს, სულერთია რას, მაგრამ ამ წიგნზე ახლავე და დაუყოვნელივ დავწერ-მეთქი, დაუყოვნებლივ, ახლავე-მეთქი, ვიმეორებდი და ვიჯექი, ახლავე და დაუყოვნებლივ და ახლავე და ახლავე, სანამ ჯერ კიდევ არ არის გვიან
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wurde besser im Verlauf. Tolle Sprache, ich habe das Gefühl ich bin in seinen Gedanken drin. Für meinen Geschmack zu viel haterei mit nur unlikeable Charakteren. Vor allem das Ende und die Art der Erzählung hat mir gefallen.