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cantordustbunnies 's review for:
Woodcutters
by Thomas Bernhard
This is the kind of book which is unforgettable and will have you thinking about it for quite some time, especially if you're an outsider or don't especially like parties. The idiosyncratic manner in which this was written contributes to the wonderfully distinctive, nasty, pessimistic, caustic, intelligent, and somehow endearing voice of the narrator. A powerful character study as well as a brutal dissection of human interactions. Bernhard uses a particular "artistic dinner" and various characters in an urban art world setting to rip apart the ways in which society grinds down creativity and beauty while encouraging posturing, banality, and superficiality. However, the narrator making these criticisms also isn't off the hook and is revealed to clearly be part of the problem through Bernhard's merciless magnifying glass. There seems to be a "return to nature" message underneath it all, or at least a yearning for an escape away from the frivolous cruelty of a big city. The narrator hates society but is part of it, doesn't like people but is drawn to them and ends up playing their games and hates himself for it. Perhaps ultimately there is a desire expressed in this work to cease being human, that is to say, alive. I did think its quirkiness was a bit overdone and got stale, and I also thought it would have benefited from having the fat trimmed off. I thought this work would have been more powerful with sharper, tighter timing. I did thoroughly enjoy it however and would highly recommend it.