A vision of a world ruled by impulse and accident emerges with
ruthless clarity from this collection of 104 nihilistic vignettes
(first published in 1978) by the late (1931-89) Austrian novelist
and playwright. They're snippets of reportage and gossip, none
longer than a page, describing perfectly ordinary people's often
arbitrary descents into despair, madness, murder, or suicide (e.g.,
disappointed mountain climbers throw their guide off a cliff, then
jump to their own deaths; a "self-willed author" shoots audience
members who "laughed in the wrong place" at a performance of his
play). Mordantly funny, thanks to the straightforward tone in which
they're presented, these uneasy pieces are a perfect distillation
of the graveyard wit and unsettling wisdom of one of the great
literary pessimists. (Kirkus Reviews)
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.
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