Style is of utmost importance to what Bernhard undertakes, yet in this particular instance, he has not quite mastered the style. It is evident that there is still room for improvement in his approach. Additionally, in this work, he leans towards being overly abstract. This excessive abstraction might pose a challenge for some readers or viewers to fully grasp and engage with his ideas. However, it could also be seen as a bold experimentation on his part. Perhaps he is exploring new territories and pushing the boundaries of traditional forms. While his lack of a firmly established style and the excessive abstraction may be drawbacks at present, they also hold the potential for growth and the development of a unique and captivating artistic voice in the future.

The book lacks a plot and has freezing monologues without interesting thoughts. I can describe the book in one word: "Boredom." I struggled with sleep for every page of this work. The gloominess of the reasoning is very superficial and does not evoke any emotions at all. The first 50 pages are still somewhat readable, but ten times more of this cheap philosophy and the brain wants to burst out.

It seems that the author failed to create an engaging story or present profound ideas. The characters' monologues are so dull that they make the reading process a real torture. Instead of being drawn into the story, I found myself constantly looking at the page number, hoping to reach the end as soon as possible.

The book's lack of depth and originality is truly disappointing. It offers nothing new or exciting, just a series of trite and uninteresting statements. I would not recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good read or some intellectual stimulation.

It is a serious crime to bring into being a person of whom one knows that he will be unhappy, that at least once sooner or later he will be unhappy. The unhappiness contained in a moment is already all the unhappiness. To create a solitude because one no longer wants to be alone, this is criminal.

Generating a life with the knowledge that it will experience unhappiness is a moral transgression. The idea that a single moment of unhappiness can sum up an entire life's worth of misery is a powerful and disturbing one. And yet, we often seem to be willing to take this risk when we bring new lives into the world.

Creating solitude out of a desire to avoid being alone is also a form of criminal behavior. Solitude can be a source of great pain and suffering, especially when it is forced upon us. We have a responsibility to consider the consequences of our actions and to do everything in our power to prevent unnecessary unhappiness and solitude.

Reading this unbearable book is truly a tiresome experience. It has a tendency to put one in a bad mood. The few witty and cynical quotes that appear every few pages unfortunately don't do much to alleviate the situation. It seems that the overall content of the book fails to engage and interest the reader. The story may lack depth or perhaps the writing style is not to everyone's taste. Despite the occasional glimmer of humor in the form of those quotes, it's not enough to salvage the overall experience. One can't help but feel a sense of disappointment while plowing through the pages of this rather unappealing book.

It's truly strange reading a Bernhard book. On the surface, it seems basically like a normal book, with its pages filled with words and sentences. But there's something about it that makes it still really cool. Maybe it's the unique style of writing, the way Bernhard weaves his thoughts and ideas together in a way that is both captivating and thought-provoking. Or perhaps it's the themes he explores, which often touch on the deeper aspects of human nature and existence. Whatever it is, there's no denying that reading a Bernhard book is an experience like no other. It challenges our preconceptions and makes us look at the world in a different way. And even though it may be a bit weird at times, it's also strangely addictive, leaving us eager to turn the next page and see what comes next.

BERNHARD, Thomas: „Frost“, Frankfurt 1972

One is astonished to look at realistically painted pictures from the youth of an abstract painter. And so it is with this book by Bernhard. Unfortunately, I read it only so late. It is his first major work.

A medical student, who works in a Salzburg hospital during the holidays, was asked by his boss to shadow the brother in a small village and provide a report on how he lives. The doctor has had no contact with the brother for decades and wants to get an idea in this way.

The young student quickly gets in touch with the brother and learns all the problems of his life, which are summarized in this book. Only at the end of the book are the official letters with the "Report" of the student to the hospital doctor. Ultimately, the painting brother has also killed himself, as he has always announced in the course of the book.

“For the one who has arrived up there, it turns out after all that there is no up there. I was as young as you when I already knew long ago that nothing is worth the effort.” (Page 21)

“You can imagine what it is like when one slaps oneself open like a book and has to discover nothing but printing errors in it, one after the other, every page is teeming with printing errors! And yet everything is MASTERFUL despite these hundreds and thousands of printing errors!” (Page 36)

The mysterious style of Bernhard is already present in this early work. Suicide is a theme that also concerns him intensively here.

(Bad Waltersdorf, 19.02.2010)

1,5⭐️

Die qualvollsten 26 literarischen Tage meines Lebens. Auf über 300 Seiten erlebe ich zu ca. 80% die verbal diarrhötische, sprunghafte und voller Verachtung triefende Weltsicht des Malers Strauch. Eigentlich genau mein Beuteschema. Misanthropie hier bin ich! Bernhard scheint in seinem Debüt der Ansicht zu sein: "Viel hilft viel". Er wemst so alles an Themen rein was geht: Dummheit, Einfältigkeit, Sexualtrieb, Schulsystem, Arbeitsrecht, Kraftwerksbau, Frauen, Essen, Tiere, Schlachthäuser, Reisen, Wissenschaft, Raubbau an der Natur, Kirche, Kommunismus, der Tod.... Mit etwa 60 Jahren auf dem Buckel, können die Themen bei mir nicht mehr wirklich zünden. "Ach, erzähl mir was Neues". Hinzukommend wählt er einen Stil der Wiederholung. Ob nun in Dialogen oder Monologen Strauchs, wird dieselbe Erkenntnis in mehreren Sätzen, teils über 2 Seiten hinweg, wiedergekäut. Das macht die Sache extrem ermüdend.

Ermüdend, weil ich die Sprache zudem als furchtbar angestaubt, altbacken und dröge empfinde. Den grotesken, witzigen Sarkasmus oder Zynismus Bernhards, kann ich hier beim besten Willen nicht erkennen. Mir waberte ständig das Bild dieser biedern Nachrichtensprecher im Geiste herum. Hatte bereits aus Holzfällen: Eine Erregung einige Passagen gelesen, bzw. ein tolles Video dazu gesehen, das mir klar vor Augen führte wie cool Bernhard schreibt und mich in der Annahme zurück ließ, dass ich diesen Autoren lieben würde. Fail für Frost! Die restlichen ca. 20% des Buches bestehen aus einer dezenten Art Plot: die Wirtin und ihr Leben wird etwas beleuchtet, ein paar Spaziergänge, einer wird mit nem Schlitten überfahren, der Medizinstudent denkt ein bisschen nach und natürlich die Briefe zum Schluss. Ich fand das einfach nur stinklangweilig und lame aufgemacht. Diese Umdichtung des Vater-Unsers war der Tiefpunkt. Bernhard berichtet dieses plotähnliche Etwas nur weg.

Dazu Absolutismen en masse und Dualismus. Wissenschaft/Vernunft vs. sensible Künstlerseele. Hier dürfen sich Freunde von Kritik der Vernunft nach Adorno und Horkheimer freuen. Selbst sprachlich verfällt er in diesen Dualismus: uninspirierte, berichthafte, spröde Schreibe vs. philosophisch, intellektuelle Metabetrachtungen, wirre Bilder und Vergleiche, die sprachlich so verschwurbelt werden, dass ich in den meisten Fällen nicht wusste, was er damit sagen will und zu Nonsens Gefasel zerfallen, das ganz wichtig klingt. Aber, da ist ja noch die Frost-Analogie! Diese könnte das Buch aufwerten, wenn man den Frost mit dem Tod gleichsetzten möchte und ihn als Abtötungsprozess versteht. Kann ich nun leider auch nicht mitgehen, da Frost für mich etwas reinigendes, geistklärendes besitzt. Frost macht Leben und Vitalität sichtbar. Mir drängt sich das Bild eines dampfenden Pferdekörpers auf. Wer schon mal bei -10 Grad joggen war, weiß wovon ich spreche.

Um noch etwas versöhnlich zu sein, möchte ich 2 Zitate bzw. Gedanken anhängen, die mir gefallen haben:

"Ausgeschlafene Frühaufsteher empfänden die Welt als vor dem Wahnsinn sicher"

"...sah ein wie sinnlos es ist, sich einem Gedankengang ganz und gar hinzugeben, in dem Glauben nicht umkommen zu müssen darin. Nicht daran zu ersticken"

Thomas Bernhard hat einen Monolog-Fetisch.

His works are often characterized by long, uninterrupted streams of consciousness that unfold in a seemingly endless flow of words.

These monologues serve as a powerful tool for Bernhard to explore the deepest recesses of the human psyche, delving into themes such as alienation, despair, and the search for meaning.

Through his masterful use of language, he is able to create a sense of intense intimacy with the reader, drawing them into the inner world of his characters and making them privy to their most private thoughts and emotions.

Bernhard's monologues are not only a means of self-expression but also a commentary on the human condition, highlighting the absurdity and futility of life in a modern, often fragmented society.

They force the reader to confront their own beliefs and values, and to question the very nature of existence.

In this way, Bernhard's Monolog-Fetisch becomes a vehicle for profound philosophical and psychological exploration, leaving a lasting impression on all those who engage with his work.

It's truly baffling how everyone seems to call for a lasting happiness. After all, in this world, it often seems that all anything really has is resale value.

Bernhard has now become one of my favorite authors. However, he is an author that I could virtually recommend to no one. His novels, which evoke the darkest shades of Dostoevsky, are often long, indentation-less meanderings on various aspects of the lowest angles of our nature.

"Frost", his first novel, has a bit more of a story to it. A young medical intern is asked by his mentor to go and spy on the mentor's brother, a crazy, reclusive painter. The intern complies and soon becomes consumed by the mad ramblings of the artist. Ensconced in a little village where "everyone wears their tuberculosis on their sleeves", it's sort of a wild and far superior version of the story that Thomas Mann tried to tell in "The Magic Mountain". But here, we're in the valley where nothing soars, there are no pinnacles, and the landlady serves up dog meat to her unsuspecting customers. The novel is full of sublime invocations of inherent evil and dismay! It's the perfect book for springtime, in a rather unexpected way.

Thomas Bernhard's literary career was built on a foundation of intense and often overwhelming elements. His works were filled with ad nauseam rants, depressive bitter rambling sentences that bordered on absurdity, a constant theme of artistic non-fulfillment, and even suicidal ideation. These characteristics were already prominent in his early writings, including his debut novel, Frost.

For the average reader, or even the intrepid one, Frost presents a significant challenge. It is a difficult book to understand, even for those with a good command of the German language. The reported speech of the mentally ill, depressed painter, Strauch, is filled with bleak non sequiturs and an artistic manifesto of insane misery. The vagueness and inscrutability in the monologue word choice add to the difficulty, making it hard to differentiate between the painter and the narrator.
Despite its difficulties, Frost is an essential pillar in the Bernhard canon. It contains all of the writer's mature themes and glimpses of his revolutionary prose. However, it is not the first novel that one should attempt when trying to enjoy Bernhard. Those who want an introduction to his works should start with one of his later, greater works that contain a sense of humor and a more musical prose style.
In conclusion, Frost is a challenging but essential read for those interested in Bernhard, Austrian literature, and depressing depictions of life. It demands a close reading and a commitment from the reader, but it also offers a unique and valuable insight into the mind of one of the twentieth century's greatest writers.

The terminally ill patient, or rather, the patient of death, enters into his mortal illness, first being plunged into despair and then resigning himself.

The terminal illness leads the one who has been attacked by it to believe that it is a world apart. It is in this illusion that terminally ill patients, patients of death, let themselves fall, and it is in that illusion that they live from that moment on, in their terminal illness, in the illusory world of their terminal illness (...).

Terminal illness often shatters the patient's previous perception of the world and themselves. They may initially be overwhelmed by the enormity of their condition, feeling as if they have been cast into a void. However, as time passes, some patients may come to accept their fate, albeit reluctantly. This acceptance, though, is often accompanied by a sense of resignation, as they realize that they have little control over the progression of their illness.

Despite the harsh reality of terminal illness, it is important to remember that patients still have the capacity to find meaning and purpose in their remaining days. By providing them with support, love, and understanding, we can help them to navigate this difficult journey and find some measure of peace and comfort.

While reading, I often recalled Hesse's "Narziss and Goldmund."

We are reading the observations of the trainee doctor and the conversations he has with the person he observes.

Although it may be boring at times, I have become engaged in a way that I will not set it aside.

It seems that I will read "The Man Without Qualities" with the same motivation. =)

Overall, these works offer unique perspectives and engage the reader in different ways.

The characters and their interactions draw us in and make us思考 about various aspects of life.

Even when the reading gets a bit tedious, the underlying themes and ideas keep us hooked.

It's interesting to see how different authors approach similar topics and create their own worlds within the pages of a book.

Whether it's Hesse or Musil, their works have the power to transport us and make us reflect on our own lives and experiences.

So, I look forward to continuing my exploration of these literary gems and seeing where they take me. =)