airdog reviewed Extinction by Thomas Bernhard
Not for everyone
4 stars
This author has been described, on a commercial alternative to Bookwyrm as, "the dentist drill of literature". I have to admit that the description fits quite well. Bernhardt is famous for his endless sentences that repeat what has already been said many times before just a little bit differently. And to add to the "pain", he never, but never says anything positive. He's Austrian and criticizes his country to such a point that most of his compatriots have reacted very negatively to his novels. Personally, I liked it. By the way, I read it in German and noticed that the English edition has 250 pages and the German one 651 pages. Am I to assume that the English editors believed that English readers will not be able to stomach so many pages of reflections on life?
I don't know. In my case, it induced in me some kind of comfortable …
This author has been described, on a commercial alternative to Bookwyrm as, "the dentist drill of literature". I have to admit that the description fits quite well. Bernhardt is famous for his endless sentences that repeat what has already been said many times before just a little bit differently. And to add to the "pain", he never, but never says anything positive. He's Austrian and criticizes his country to such a point that most of his compatriots have reacted very negatively to his novels. Personally, I liked it. By the way, I read it in German and noticed that the English edition has 250 pages and the German one 651 pages. Am I to assume that the English editors believed that English readers will not be able to stomach so many pages of reflections on life?
I don't know. In my case, it induced in me some kind of comfortable trance, there's something very musical to his writing, that kept me going and enjoying.
But as said, not for everyone. You've been warned!