2012 Puddly Awards
 
 
Follow us on TwitterFollow us on FacebookFollow us on TumblrSubscribe to RSS


Recently Viewed clear list


Guests | February 8, 2012

Nathan Englander: IMG Big Think



Tonight is the first event for the new book, and I've spent most of the afternoon at home with curlers in my hair and cucumber circles on the eyes... Continue »
  1. $17.47 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

spacer
Free Shipping!

Ships free on qualified orders.
$14.00
New Trade Paper
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
2 Burnside Literature- A to Z
2 Hawthorne Literature- A to Z
11 Local Warehouse Literature- A to Z
7 Remote Warehouse Literature- A to Z

This title in other editions

The Loser (Vintage International)

by Thomas Bernhard

The Loser (Vintage International) Cover

 

Staff Pick

Like much of his other work, Thomas Bernhard's The Loser has suicide at its core. Three men met and became friends while attending the Mozarteum in Vienna, and only one — the narrator — is still alive. The other two characters are a heavily fictionalized Glenn Gould (one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century) and the "loser" of the title, Wertheimer. Both the narrator and Wertheimer abandoned their art upon encountering Gould; Wertheimer ultimately commits suicide, and the narrator lives because he can't give up his obsession (unlike his piano) with Gould. Written as an unbroken interior monologue, The Loser is arguably as stunning as Gould's music.
Recommended by Gin, Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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.

Synopsis:

A brilliant account of an imagined relationship among three men- including the late piano virtuoso Glenn Gould- who meet in 1953 to study with Vladimir Horowitz.

About the Author

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 most distinguished and coveted literary prizes awarded in Germany, he has become one of the most widely translated and admired writers of his generation. His novels published in English include Gargoyles, The Lime Works, Correction, Concrete, Woodcutters, and Wittgenstein's Nephew; a number of his plays have been produced off Broadway, at the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, and at theaters in London and throughout Europe. The five segments of his memoir were published in one volume, Gathering Evidence, in 1985. Thomas Bernhard died in 1989.

Product Details

ISBN:
9781400077540
Author:
Bernhard, Thomas
Publisher:
Vintage Books USA
Translator:
Dawson, Jack
Afterword by:
Anderson, Mark M.
Afterword:
Anderson, Mark M.
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Canada
Subject:
Pianists
Subject:
Biographical fiction
Subject:
Musical fiction.
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
Edition Description:
Paperback
Series:
Vintage International
Publication Date:
20061031
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
189
Dimensions:
7.94x5.24x.55 in. .49 lbs.

Other books you might like

  1. $4.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Four Meals

    Meir Shalev 9781841951140
  2. $6.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Out Stealing Horses

    Per Petterson 9780312427085
  3. $10.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Cloud Atlas: A Novel

    David Mitchell 9780375507250
  4. $1.98 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Exile

    William Kotzwinkle 9780525483786
  5. $4.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    A Big Storm Knocked It Over

    Laurie Colwin 9780060958985
  6. $9.00 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

Related Aisles

The Loser (Vintage International) New Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$14.00 In Stock
Product details 189 pages Vintage Books USA - English 9781400077540 Reviews:
"Staff Pick" by ,

Like much of his other work, Thomas Bernhard's The Loser has suicide at its core. Three men met and became friends while attending the Mozarteum in Vienna, and only one — the narrator — is still alive. The other two characters are a heavily fictionalized Glenn Gould (one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century) and the "loser" of the title, Wertheimer. Both the narrator and Wertheimer abandoned their art upon encountering Gould; Wertheimer ultimately commits suicide, and the narrator lives because he can't give up his obsession (unlike his piano) with Gould. Written as an unbroken interior monologue, The Loser is arguably as stunning as Gould's music.

"Synopsis" by , A brilliant account of an imagined relationship among three men- including the late piano virtuoso Glenn Gould- who meet in 1953 to study with Vladimir Horowitz.
spacer
spacer
  • back to top
Follow us on...


Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.