The Loser

A Novel

A Novel

By Thomas Bernhard

By Thomas Bernhard

Part of Vintage International

Part of Vintage International

Best Seller
The Loser by Thomas Bernhard
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Paperback $17.00

Oct 17, 2006 | 208 Pages

Ebook $9.99

Nov 10, 2010 | 208 Pages

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    About The Loser

    Thomas Bernhard was one of the most original writers of the twentieth century. His formal innovation ranks with Beckett and Kafka, his outrageously cantankerous voice recalls Dostoevsky, but his gift for lacerating, lyrical, provocative prose is incomparably his own.One of Bernhard’s most acclaimed novels, The Loser centers on a fictional relationship between piano virtuoso Glenn Gould and two of his fellow students who feel compelled to renounce their musical ambitions in the face of Gould’s incomparable genius. One commits suicide, while the other– the obsessive, witty, and self-mocking narrator– has retreated into obscurity. Written as a monologue in one remarkable unbroken paragraph, The Loser is a brilliant meditation on success, failure, genius, and fame.

    About The Loser

    Thomas Bernhard was one of the most original writers of the twentieth century. His formal innovation ranks with Beckett and Kafka, his outrageously cantankerous voice recalls Dostoevsky, but his gift for lacerating, lyrical, provocative prose is incomparably his own.One of Bernhard’s most acclaimed novels, The Loser centers on a fictional relationship between piano virtuoso Glenn Gould and two of his fellow students who feel compelled to renounce their musical ambitions in the face of Gould’s incomparable genius. One commits suicide, while the other– the obsessive, witty, and self-mocking narrator– has retreated into obscurity. Written as a monologue in one remarkable unbroken paragraph, The Loser is a brilliant meditation on success, failure, genius, and fame.

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    Praise

    “A complex and unsettling novel . . . about genius and obsession . . . mirroring the thought process of a compulsive mind.” —The New York Times Book Review“Bernhard writes like a sacred monster. . . . He is a remarkable literary performer: a man who goes to extremes in ways that vivify our sense of human possibilities, however destructive.” — The Wall Street Journal“Bernhard is one of the masters of contemporary European fiction . . . After Kafka’s and Canetti’s, his sensibility is one of the most acute, the most capable of exemplary images and gestures, in modern literature.” — George Steiner

    About Thomas Bernhard

    Thomas Bernhard was born in Holland in 1931 and grew up in Austria. He studied music at the Akademie Mozarteum in Salzburg. In 1957 he began a second career, as a playwright, poet, and novelist. The winner of the three… More about Thomas Bernhard

    About Thomas Bernhard

    Thomas Bernhard was born in Holland in 1931 and grew up in Austria. He studied music at the Akademie Mozarteum in Salzburg. In 1957 he began a second career, as a playwright, poet, and novelist. The winner of the three… More about Thomas Bernhard

    Product Details

    Paperback
    Published by Vintage
    Oct 17, 2006 | 208 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9781400077540

    Ebook
    Published by Vintage
    Nov 10, 2010 | 208 Pages | ISBN 9780307773463

    Also by Thomas Bernhard

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