"In the universe of Bernhard", "Telling by Bernhard and the beloved son of Lydia Davis", "Approximately the style of Austrian Thomas Bernhard "... The recommended comments and jacketed books of the three novels published this summer were sealed, and the name Thomas Bernhard appeared at the same time.
Thomas Bernhard (February 9, 1931-February 12, 1989), an Austrian writer, whose main works include " Wittgenstein's Nephew " and "Masters of All Chronicles".
As one of the most important figures in twentieth century German literature and nephew of Wittgenstein , Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard wrote a lot throughout his life. His works cover almost all literary fields such as poetry, novels, dramas, etc. But at the same time, Bernhard is a loner and cynical geek. In the 1970s, he was nominated as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature and , but he openly stated that he would refuse to receive the award. Bernhard denounced the hypocrisy of his native Austria and disliked his accomplices in the Holocaust. He died in February 1989 at the age of 58, and in his will he forbid Austria from performing his plays or publishing his literary works.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the trend of Bernhard in the European and American novel circles is somewhat unexpected. Jordan Castro's debut novel The Novelist, published two weeks ago, not only mentioned Bernhard on its jacketed book cover, but also quoted one of his books. Mark Haber's novel "Saint Sebastian's Abyss" published last month gave Bernhard a straightforward tribute. Emily Hall's debut novel in May tells the story of an artist who wants to know "what is my work" visiting a gallery owner.
The three recently published novels with "Bernhard" as the selling point.
Book reviewer Jessica Ferri believes that all three recently published novels can be seen as Bernhard-like rants, or described as in some cases abusive verb for artistic creation and purpose. They all implicitly pay homage to Bernhard, marked by lengthy monologues, intense hatred and disgust for modern life. In addition, some writers, including Mauro Javier Cárdenas, Claudia Piñeiro and Rafael Chirbes, have also mentioned the influence of Bernhard on them.
The literary trend of chasing Bernhard can be traced back to the early 2000s. At that time, Viking re-issued many of his books, which attracted the interest of English readers. At that time, Viking re-issued many of his books, which attracted the interest of English readers. Although all his 13 novels are now published in English, there is still a large amount of untranslated material in his numerous dramas, short and medium stories and memoirs. In October, The Rest Is Slander will be published, a collection of five previously untranslated stories.
The upcoming book cover of Bernhard's work "The Rest Is Slander".
Writer Jane Craig is also often compared with Bernhard, the author of "Since the Accident" and "Panthers and the Museum of Fire." Craig said what she learned from Bernhard was breaking the rules. "He only gives you the plot on the first page. Once the rules are broken, you can write everything else, everything that cannot be described by the plot on the first page."
Craig said that when he was visiting the local bookstore, he found his work on the bookshelf, and the clerk wrote "Give it to Thomas Bernhard's fans" on the small note next to it. At first, Craig didn’t want to connect with the “obscure, possibly misogynistic” writer, “but now I don’t care. I’m glad. For me, Bernhard is about realism. I don’t think many people think he’s a realist, but since graduate school, most of the ideas of writing have been about the subject, the plot and the content.These things are too fake. And roaring...this is reality for me. ”
Book reviewer Jesselan Ferry pointed out that these writers have learned lessons from Bernhard’s novels, and they don’t want to lose their voices in the process of creating novel plots and characters. As Craig said, there are many junk imitators in the novel market today: “Today, if you want to write novels, you have to be an expert rather than a writer. ”
Reference link:
(1)Why are these Summer Books Indebted to an Austrian Author of Nihilistic Rants?
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2022-06-27/thomas-bernhard-the-novelist-saint-sebastians-abyss-the-longcut-panthers-museum-of-fire
(2)The Rest Is Slander
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/R/bo184789630.html
Reporter Li Yongbo
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