7.8 /10 1 Votes
Original title Frost Publisher Vintage Books USA Published in English 2006 Followed by Gargoyles Country Austria | 3.9/5 Goodreads Language German Publication date 1963 Originally published 1963 Genre Novel Translator Michael Hofmann | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback) Works by Thomas Bernhard Gargoyles, Correction, The Lime Works, The Loser, Old Masters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frost is the first novel by Thomas Bernhard, originally published in German in 1963. An English translation by Michael Hofmann was published in 2006.
Contents
Plot summary
Strauch, mad painter, isolates himself from the world by retreating to the hamlet of Weng near Schwarzach im Pongau. His surgeon brother has Strauch watched by his young medical assistant, who narrates the book. The inn where Strauch resides is managed by a woman with a husband in prison and an endless sequence of lovers. The story includes a significant amount of violence and murder.
Narrative style
The character Strauch has a tendency to speak in long, ranting monologues, which characterises all of Bernhard’s subsequent work. Another element in Bernhard’s style is repetition: he often repeats phrases with minor variations. As the narrative progresses, the voice of the young narrator increasingly disappears into the voice of Strauch.