''Repetition'' (german: Die Wiederholung) is a 1986 novel by the Austrian writer
Peter Handke
Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored t ...
. It tells the story of an Austrian of mixed German and Slovenian heritage, who goes to communist Yugoslavia in a search for identity.
Reception
David Pryce-Jones
David Eugene Henry Pryce-Jones (born 15 February 1936) is a British conservative author and commentator.
Early life
Pryce-Jones was born on 15 February 1936, in Vienna, Austria. He was educated at Eton and earned a degree in history at Magdal ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' wrote "The intention is to shatter Austrian complacency, utterly to reject the national conspiracy of silence and evasion, so that the Austrian at last can be his own man. Admirable as this would be, Mr. Handke is not the writer for it. To some extent, the alienation of this novel is attributable to the deliberate distancing of its style." Pryce-Jones continued: "More crucially, ''Repetition'' reveals one man set so implacably against his fellows that he can do nothing but pity himself and hate them. Surrender to these reactions serves to extend the Nazi legacy rather than to destroy it. New beginnings without humanity are not new beginnings at all."
The German writer
W.G. Sebald
Winfried Georg Sebald (18 May 1944 – 14 December 2001), known as W. G. Sebald or (as he preferred) Max Sebald, was a German writer and academic. At the time of his death at the age of 57, he was being cited by literary critics as one of the g ...
, in his essay "Across the Border," discussed the influence of ''Repetition'' on his own work, and closed his essay as follows: “In ''Repetition'', Handke allows the peculiar light which illuminates the space under a leafy canopy or a tent canvas to glisten between words, placed here with astounding caution and precision; in doing so, he succeeds in making the text into a sort of refuge amid the arid lands which, even in the culture industry, grow larger day by day.”
Gabriel Josipovici
Gabriel David Josipovici ( ; born 8 October 1940) is a British novelist, short story writer, critic, literary theorist, and playwright. He is an Emeritus professor, after having been Professor at the University of Sussex.
Biography
He was born ...
of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' closed his review by stating that "
andke'snarrative … is one of the most dignified and moving evocations I have ever read of what it means to be alive, to walk upon this earth."
See also
*
1986 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1986.
Events
* April 29 – A major fire at Los Angeles Public Library caused by arson destroys 400,000 volumes.
* July 21 – Michael Grade, Controller of BBC1, axe ...
*
Austrian literature
Austrian literature () is mostly written in German, and is closely connected with German literature.
Origin and background
From the 19th century onward, Austria was the home of novelists and short-story writers, including Adalbert Stifter, ...
References
External links
English-language publisher
1986 Austrian novels
Austrian novels
German-language novels
Novels by Peter Handke
Suhrkamp Verlag books
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