The Voice Imitator

by Bernhard, Thomas; Northcott, Kenneth J.

• ISBN13: 9780226044019
• ISBN10: 0226044017
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-12-22
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

The Austrian playwright, novelist, and poet Thomas Bernhard (1931-89) is acknowledged as among the major writers of our times. At once pessimistic and exhilarating, Bernhard's work depicts the corruption of the modern world, the dynamics of totalitarianism, and the interplay of reality and appearance. In this stunning translation of The Voice Imitator, Bernhard gives us one of his most darkly comic works. A series of parable-like anecdotes--some drawn from newspaper reports, some from conversation, some from hearsay--this satire is both subtle and acerbic. What initially appear to be quaint little stories inevitably indict the sterility and callousness of modern life, not just in urban centers but everywhere. Bernhard presents an ordinary world careening into absurdity and disaster. Politicians, professionals, tourists, civil servants--the usual victims of Bernhard's inspired misanthropy--succumb one after another to madness, mishap, or suicide. The shortest piece, titled "Mail," illustrates the anonymity and alienation that have become standard in contemporary society: "For years after our mother's death, the Post Office still delivered letters that were addressed to her. The Post Office had taken no notice of her death." In his disarming, sometimes hilarious style, Bernhard delivers a lethal punch with every anecdote. George Steiner has connected Bernhard to "the great constellation of Kafka, Musil, and Broch," and John Updike has compared him to Grass, Handke, and Weiss. The Voice Imitator reminds us that Thomas Bernhard remains the most caustic satirist of our age.

Table of Contents

HAMSUN	1	(1)
THE VOICE IMITATOR	2	(1)
CHARACTER ASSASSINATION	3	(1)
FOURATI	4	(1)
BROCHURE	5	(1)
PISA AND VENICE	6	(1)
FEAR	7	(1)
ONE-WAY JOURNEY	8	(1)
INNER COMPULSION	9	(1)
SPELEOLOGISTS	10	(1)
IN LIMA	11	(1)
ALMOST	12	(1)
EXAMPLE	13	(1)
CHARITY	14	(1)
GOOD ADVICE	15	(1)
PREJUDICE	16	(1)
SUSPICION	17	(1)
EXCHANGE	18	(1)
EARLY TRAIN	19	(1)
BEAUTIFUL VIEW	20	(1)
THE TABLES TURNED	21	(1)
HOTEL WALDHAUS	22	(1)
HAUMER THE LOGGER	23	(1)
IN EARNEST	24	(1)
TOO MUCH	25	(1)
PRESCRIPTION	26	(1)
DISAPPOINTED ENGLISHMEN	27	(1)
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CONCERT	28	(1)
SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES	29	(1)
PROFOUND AND SHALLOW	30	(1)
CHARACTER	31	(1)
MOOSPRUGGER'S MISTAKE	32	(1)
MAIL	33	(1)
CLAIM	34	(1)
COMEDY	35	(1)
WARNING	36	(1)
EMIGRATED	37	(1)
UNWORDLY	38	(1)
AT THEIR MERCY	39	(1)
DE ORIO	40	(1)
PHOTOGRAPHERS	41	(1)
SCHLUEMBERGER	42	(1)
DISCOVERY	43	(1)
MIMOSA	44	(1)
A FAMOUS DANCER	45	(1)
GUILTY CONSCIENCE	46	(1)
FORGOTTEN	47	(1)
PICCADILLY CIRCUS	48	(1)
INCREASED	49	(1)
IN THE FRAUENGRABEN	50	(1)
THE PANTHERS	51	(1)
WRONG NOTE	52	(1)
THE AUSZUGLER	53	(1)
THE MILKMAID	54	(1)
THE NEEDLEWOMAN	55	(1)
THE LODEN COAT	56	(1)
PAPERMAKERS	57	(1)
BOUNDARY STONE	58	(1)
TWO BROTHERS	59	(1)
NATURAL	60	(1)
GIANT	61	(1)
NATURAL HISTORY	62	(1)
QUESTION IN THE PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENT	63	(1)
TWO NOTES	64	(1)
UNREQUITED LOVE	65	(1)
PARTY OF TOURISTS	66	(1)
TRUE LOVE	67	(1)
IMPOSSIBLE	68	(1)
FEELING	69	(1)
A SELF-WILLED AUTHOR	70	(1)
UNFULFILLED WISH	71	(1)
PRESENCE OF MIND	72	(1)
SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME	73	(1)
SILO	74	(1)
FAMOUS	75	(1)
NO SOUL	76	(1)
THE PRINCE	77	(1)
PRINCE POTOCKI	78	(1)
LEC	79	(1)
THE ROYAL VAULT	80	(1)
CONTRADICTION	81	(1)
FRUITFULNESS	82	(1)
COMING TO TERMS	83	(1)
DECISION	84	(1)
CIVIL SERVICE	85	(1)
AFTER YOU	86	(1)
IMAGINATION	87	(1)
EXPEDITION	88	(1)
LEGACY	89	(1)
DOUBLE	90	(1)
LUCK	91	(1)
POLITICAL SCIENCE	92	(1)
CONSISTENCY	93	(1)
NEAR SULDEN	94	(1)
PERAST	95	(1)
MADNESS	96	(1)
CARE	97	(1)
IN ROME	98	(1)
WITHDRAWN	99	(1)
LIKE ROBERT SCHUMANN	100	(1)
RESPECT	101	(1)
GENIUS	102	(1)
998 TIMES	103	(1)
RETURNED	104