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Subjects > Fiction themes > Arts & entertainment > Music, classical
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Subjects > Gould, glenn
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About This Book:

Title: The Loser

Other Available Formats:
Book, 1991
Hardcover, 1991
Paperback, 1993
Paperback, 1996

Synopsis
Thomas Bernhard's novel is based loosely on the life of pianist Glenn Gould, whose monstrous talents destroy two of his friends.

Details
Series:             Vintage International Series
Language:        English

Size
Length:        189 Pages
Weight:        0.5 Pounds
Height:         8 Inches
Width:          5 Inches
Thickness:    0.8 Inches



Publisher Notes
First Line: Even Glenn Gould, our friend and the most important piano virtuoso of the century, I thought to myself, as I entered the inn...




Industry Reviews
"Like Swift, Bernhard writes like a sacred monster....A remarkable literary performer: [he] goes to extremes in ways that vivify our sense of human possibilities, however destructive."
"The excellence of Bernhard-and it is a kind virtuosity, ably maintained in this American translation-is to make his monotonous loathing not only sting but also, like Gould at the piano, sing."
"America has been sadly immune to the charm and challenge of Bernhard's work and the American public has deprived itself of the deep and serious pleasure of reading one of the great writers of this century....One of the great works of world literature. Its arrival on these shores is a significant literary event."
"Thomas Bernhard, the Austrian who hates Austria, has a reputation for being somehow 'difficult,' but although THE LOSER deals with such weighty subjects as art, ambition and the futility of endeavor, and although it is scarred by lung disease and suicide, it made me laugh out loud. Sentence by sentence, the structure of the book is at once a mystery and a marvel. Obsessive, elliptical, loopy and so perfectly splenetic. It is a jewel."
(07/12/1999)
"[A] complex and unsettling novel....Rendered in a consistently joyless voice, this novel about genius and obsession uses language that moves in loops around itself, mirroring the thought processes of a compulsive mind. Drawn to the same cycle of events, the same questions, the unnamed narrator--who both is and is not Thomas Bernhard--dissects the past, assigns responsibility and, at times, deceives himself. Except for the first page, the internal monologue runs in one unbroken paragraph until the end of the book....Translated by Jack Dawson, the text faithfully adheres to the pattern of Bernhard's monologue."
(09/08/1991)


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Book Details Summary: The title of this book is The Loser and it was written by Mark M. Anderson (Foreword By), Thomas Bernhard, Jack Dawson (Translator). This edition of The Loser is in a Paperback format. This books publish date is October 2006 and it has a suggested retail price of $14. There are 189 pages in the book and it was published by Vintage Books. The 10 digit ISBN is 1400077540 and the 13 digit ISBN is 9781400077540. For the most current lowest price, Click Here.