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Wittgenstein Nephew A Friendship Phoenix Fiction Thomas Bernhard David McLintock 9780226043920 Books

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Wittgenstein Nephew A Friendship Phoenix Fiction Thomas Bernhard David McLintock 9780226043920 Books

I've read most of Bernhard's works and am well-acquainted with his style and his typical subject matter. I was a little disappointed in this one. It is not up to the same great standard set by Concrete or The Loser, two that I like very much. I consider this and Frost to be among his lesser works.


Tags : Wittgenstein's Nephew: A Friendship (Phoenix Fiction) [Thomas Bernhard, David McLintock] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div>It is 1967, in a Viennese hospital. In separate wards: the narrator named Thomas Bernhard, is stricken with a lung ailment; his friend Paul,Thomas Bernhard, David McLintock,Wittgenstein's Nephew: A Friendship (Phoenix Fiction),University Of Chicago Press,0226043924,Authors;Fiction.,Germany;Fiction.,Philosophers;Fiction.,Authors,Bernhard, Thomas,FICTION General,Fiction,Fiction - General,General,Literature: History & Criticism,Modern fiction,Philosophers,Wittgenstein, Paul,1907-,Wittgenstein, Paul,

Wittgenstein Nephew A Friendship Phoenix Fiction Thomas Bernhard David McLintock 9780226043920 Books Reviews

I don’t have nearly the gift of language that Thomas Bernhard has so, unfortunately, I am not going to be able to accurately describe how great I thought this book was. You know how as you age and read through your aging, you have a tendency to stick with your favorites because so many authors tend to disappoint? So it’s back to Kafka or Dostoevsky or Bukowski or Fante? If you love the greats not solely because of their work but because of how the world filtered through them, and you haven’t yet read Thomas Bernhard, start now.

This is one of those books, and authors, about whom others will tend to say, “Oh, how can you read that, it’s so depressing….” Generally when I hear that, I don’t walk to read such a writer, I run. Thomas Bernhard, like the greats, pulls no punches in his unflinching descriptions, observations, and insights into the struggle we call life. Where some would see his tone and outlook as bleak or cynical, I found beauty, depth, and an intractable willingness to face the absurdity of existence.

Regarding this book, it’s short, one paragraph, and while “easy” to read, it also fulfills Kafka’s claim that “a book must be an ice axe to break the seas frozen inside our soul.” Among other musings, it’s a semi-autobiographical story about the author’s friendship with Ludwig Wittgenstein’s nephew. If you’re looking for standard plot points, a typical narrative arc and a satisfying conclusion that will propel you into gratitude for the notion of friendship, you won’t find it here. And yet his, and our own, gratitude is felt to encompass and underscore all the complexities of human relationships.

Herein lie deep meditations on the nature of connection, sickness, sorrow, time, mortality, and the sobering realization that life unfolds how it unfolds and it doesn’t give a damn what we think about it. It’s a beautifully written piece of work by not just a true thinker but the rare person who is able to convey those conclusions in a direct, non-philosophical manner. It’s an absolute gem and I am very thankful that I now have many other Bernhard books to look forward to and work through in my near future. Just read one page and you’ll know if this is for you. It won’t appeal to the majority, but for the rest of us, like thunder cracking the sky, you’ll feel it right through your bones.
Quite boring
Wittgenstein's nephew was above all my expectations. Wonderful!!
Really...I don't know...this is an extraordinarily well-written book...smart...observant...philosophical...no laughs, but not without some very sharp humor. The sentences build momentum, one after the other, then echo and fall back on themselves as it goes...like an argument.

The premise is clever, intellectually intriguing...an exploration less of character and more of an appreciation these character's IDEAS about life and each other...their failed careers...their failed friendship...the "story?"...I don't know.

To my mind, somewhat reminiscent of Thomas Mann (though the writer might wince at that...esp. as Mann loved plots and flesh-and-blood as much as ideas.)

I much preferred "Wittgenstein's Mistress" by David Markson...equally challenging (in a very different way)...exceptionally clever, but. it's "meta," so ya gotta work for it...( I confess, I alternated reading it with a Jo Nesbo thriller...sometimes you need a bloody page-turning "palate cleanser." ya know?

I don't know...I'll eventually read one more book by Bernhard and decide...or maybe not.
Very good.
Possibly a life-changing book, a great introduction to a difficult and rewarding author, master.
chewy read, and a lot to learn - personalisaton of the characters really well done - reads in an idiosyncratic way Bernard made his own - a form of writing that is Austrian to its core.literary and valuable.
I've read most of Bernhard's works and am well-acquainted with his style and his typical subject matter. I was a little disappointed in this one. It is not up to the same great standard set by Concrete or The Loser, two that I like very much. I consider this and Frost to be among his lesser works.