Thomas Bernhard: The Making of an Austrian

Rating:
Summary: No justice done to Bernhard
Review: I am a big Bernhard fan and thought this book was dreadful. IF for you literature is something to be dissected primarily through the lens of Freudianism or you have a fetish for the word 'performance' you may like this book. But as a biography, and in terms of a philosophical understanding of Bernhard, it is hopeless. There is an immense amount of pompous academic jargon which is tedious and unilluminating. The analysis of the major works is scant at best. In fact this book only really serves one purpose, and that is to place Bernhard in an Austrian tradition, very much the writer as a social creature. Admittedly it carries out this function fairly well. But on aesthetic and philosophical grounds it is a dismal performance, showing almost no insight or feeling for the Bernhard out-look. In fact the author is immensely irritating. And there is too much of an emphasis (I think for the American market) on the Nazis. Yes, this book is really horrendous and I had to speed read it as I got on because I would have been sick with the lame quality otherwise. I would hearily recommend avoiding this book. Stick to the novels and the memoirs, or learn German and read a proper analysis!

Rating:
Summary: A truly sophisticated reader
Review: This book arrived today and I have just read the first half. This is a terrific and, I believe, important book on Bernhard and his art. Honegger is a very subtle reader of Bernhard. What is most appealing is the way she connects Bernhard's writing with his own personal history and the history of Austria. With this work readers of the English-language translations of Bernhard's work now have a first-rate guide to this talented genius.

Rating:
Summary: spicy but solid too
Review: This brand new bio balances scurillous with serious, and carefully explains background. It's a good intro.

Honegger successfully locates Bernhard in his milieu, the Viennese theater and Austria as a national scandal. Tina Brown in Talk recently wrote about British "genial malice", whereby they can carp at Tony Blair *because* he made a good speech. Bernhard went further: he was more like Eminem today than anyone in the US now.

a "you can't jail me, so try to sue me!" writer.

Honegger reveals lots of new stuff, especially about Bernhard's relationships and the high regard given Bernhard by Austrian aristocracy. Her points about Bernhard's laboring successfully to be an aristocrat hit the mark.

Honegger also notes his Mallorca interviews with Justine Fleischmann. Let's hope they're translated soon.

We need to read more German writers who say writers are worse than dogs because no one trains them where to pee.

The USA with its cargo cults of celebrities and public officials is becoming more like Austria in its public celebrations every day, with interminable strife about being more crude or more subtle played out daily in the press, dishonestly of course. A book on Bernhard and the reaction to pollution that nurtured him can't be more timely.