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#austrian
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The_Penniless_Author
Loser | Thomas Bernhard
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Pickpick

A 170-page unbroken paragraph composed of a would-be piano virtuoso's obsessive, paranoid reflections on his former friends and fellow students - Wertheimer, now dead by suicide, and the great Glenn Gould, whose genius sent the others' lives into a tailspin (all three of whom are really different aspects of Bernhard himself). Venomous, funny, and formalistically daring, this was not an easy read by any means but well worth the effort.

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sarahbarnes
The Piano Teacher | Elfriede Jelinek, Joachim Neugroschel
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Mehso-so

One of the more disturbing stories of a mother-daughter relationship I‘ve read, and an intense account of a woman‘s self-destruction. It was a bit too much for me at times, but I do admire Jelinek‘s bold approach. I‘d still like to see the film at some point.

BarbaraBB I bailed on this one when I read it - a long time ago! 3mo
sarahbarnes @BarbaraBB I don‘t really blame you. I‘d had it on my shelf forever and felt like I needed to read it. And now I have. 😂 3mo
39 likes2 comments
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BarbaraBB
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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#BookReport 21/24

I was underwhelmed by the Trickster but enjoyed the tagged one a lot and I LOVED Is Mother Dead. So I had a very good week!

sarahbarnes 🎉🎉🎉 6mo
60 likes1 comment
review
BarbaraBB
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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Pickpick

A woman in the Austrian Alps is suddenly surrounded by an invisible wall. Behind the wall the world seems to have come to an end. She lives on in her own little world, surviving with her animals. Despite the apocalyptic setting this book felt somehow soothing. I loved how the woman lives with nature and her animals. Thanks for bringing this to my radar @batsy

sarahbarnes Great review. I loved this one too and felt the same. 🩵🩵 6mo
BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes I loved your review and couldn‘t wait to read it too! 6mo
BarbaraBB #52BookClub24 - Land-locked country #ATY24 - Relates to “Raining Cats and Dogs” (edited) 6mo
See All 16 Comments
Hooked_on_books Oooo, that sounds good! 6mo
Lcsmcat Sounds intriguing. Stacking. 6mo
Librarybelle Sounds interesting! 6mo
Tamra I enjoyed the screen adaptation. 6mo
BarbaraBB @Tamra I need to check that out 6mo
Cathythoughts Sounds good. Stacking. 6mo
Anna40 I love Haushofer! She also wrote short stories. I even translated one but the Austrian publisher didn‘t want to give me permission to send it to a literary magazine for publication. Unless they translate her whole collection it will probably remain untranslated :(. She was brilliant. 6mo
batsy Nice review! Yes, there was something soothing and ultimately hopeful about it in a way. Happy you liked it. 6mo
BarbaraBB @Anna40 That is so cool! And such a pity you couldn‘t publish it. I‘d love to read more by her. 6mo
jenniferw88 This was my #blinddatewithabook book last year from Gladstones! 6mo
Rissreads I think I‘ll bump it up my list! Great review! 6mo
82 likes8 stack adds16 comments
review
sarahbarnes
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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Pickpick

This book somehow presents circumstances that are both tempting and terrifying. Such a unique premise, although the themes felt familiar. The MC‘s relationships with animals in the story are poignant, and I felt so much suspense and dread about what was to come. This is a book that I‘ll be thinking about for a long time. Thanks @batsy for putting this one on my list.

Suet624 Hmmm - I seem to have stacked this already - sounds intriguing. 8mo
BarbaraBB Such an intriguing review, another recommendation by @batsy and that cover 🥰… sold! 8mo
batsy Great review. Her relationship with the animals—that was so moving. Glad you liked it! 8mo
35 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Readergrrl
Post-Office Girl | Stefan Zweig
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My #JolabokaflodSwap & #NaturaLitsyWinterSwap packages are in the mail and flying to their recipients! Waiting on one more item to arrive tonight and then I will mail my #CreepyChristmas package tomorrow!

Avanders 🫢🫢🫢 I‘m so excited!!! 11mo
43 likes1 comment
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Jari-chan
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Pickpick

At first I thought this would just be another 60-something literati writing about how bad gaming is for our children. What a prejudice (the author is younger than I am)! It's actually quite the opposite. It's a book about abuse, about being young and becoming an adult, about first love and about finding what you're really good at and standing by it. It's a good coming-of-age novel with really hard to read scenes, that also brought memories back.

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Jari-chan
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15 pages in and I'm already terrified...

35 likes1 comment
review
Night_Reader
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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Pickpick

3.5/5 🌟

The first third of the book was great and had me hooked from the beginning. However, it became monotonous, and my interest wavered as I progressed.