Extinction- Thomas Bernhard

[Amanda]

I read this book for my randomiser last month. I debated between a 2 and 3 star rating, and decided to be more generous and went with 3. I didn’t hate it, and there were things I thought were very well done, but in general I’m tired of this type of book.

By that I mean these kind of self-serious and important navel gazing writing about writing and academic ennui books. Protagonist is also a “gifted” straight white man with a lot of angst about how no one understands him and his pure artistry/philosophy, whatever. It’s not that it’s wrong to write books about that, but maaaan is it overdone, and oh boy, am I sick of all the dudes doing this being called geniuses. It just feels so insular and self-serving that it undermines it’s own aims at depths and brilliance because it illuminates nothing but itself.

I’ll admit this one had a bit more substance than a lot of these books though, and did manage to illuminate a bit more than itself. The premise for this book specifically is that Austrian academic Franz-Josef Murau is forced to leave his self-imposed exile in Italy when both of his parents die and he is made inheritor of their estate- Wolfsegg- against his will. A lot of the book is rumination of his past, family history and drama, his philosophy etc.

It’s an okay premise, but the best part of the book-in my opinion- is how he reflects on the complacency of people like his family in horrors like WWII and the disingenuousness of a lot of Austrian disavowal of the Nazis after they lost. When he finally decides to donate all of Wolfsegg to the Jewish community of Vienna at the end I thought that was actually pretty great and a satisfying payoff and really helped increase my score for this book.

Considering the fight that Adele Bloch Bauer’s niece had to get the family’s Klimt paintings back from the Austrian government, I think the story about reparations was great. I just found the rest of the book to be staler and weaker.

[Diane]

Rating: 3 stars


I think I'm getting tired of Bernhard. I thought the first couple of books I read were great. But now on the 5th out of 6 list books, I am feeling a little jaded with his characters' negativity. This really isn't a bad book, though - I'm just tired of his writing. Still, I don't understand Bernhard's tremendously high overall ratings.

The narrator estranges himself from his wealthy Austrian family and relocates to Rome. He recalls his upbriging throughout the book and has few positive things to say about his parents or siblings. Circumstances eventually bring him back to his childhood home and force him from his self-imposed exile. I thought the resolution at the ending was the best part of the book.

[Pamela]

This was my first book by Bernhard and I had only heard a little about his distinctive writing style but I found the writing quite compelling. The book consisted of two long paragraphs- the first containing Murau’s reflections on his childhood and family (he hated every minute, never felt loved, couldn’t wait to leave), the second dealing with his trip to Wolfsegg and the funeral (more of the same) - with words and phrases that repeat, overlap and recirculate in an almost musical way. Murau’s tone is bitter, angry and sometimes darkly humorous, as he blurts out thoughts only to retract them and change his mind moments later.

In the second half of the book, Murau turns his attention to his family’s Catholic and National Socialist ideals and rails against them, while still coming to recognise they form part of his personal and national identity. I found this section more interesting in its content as it sheds light on a number of characters in Murau’s life, most memorably the smooth priest Spadolini and the despised brother-in-law who is always referred to as ‘the wine cork manufacturer’, and has a few bombshells that grabbed the attention.

This book appealed to me more than I was expecting, and I am looking forward to reading more Bernhard although I feel his negative outpourings could lose their appeal after a while.

[Gail]

Extinction is my fourth Thomas Bernhard book. This book is very much akin to Correction in that there are two very long paragraphs/sections. In the first section the narrator is telling someone, presumably the reader or "us" about conversations he has had with his pupil and friend Gambetti. Largely what he is narrating is what he has told Gambetti about his relationship with his family. The whole section is punctuated with "I told Gambetti". In the second section, that distancing effect has been removed and the narrator is speaking directly about what is happening when he returns home after his parents and older brother have been killed.
Our narrator is a teacher or academic from Austria but he has a love, hate relationship with Austria and has fled to live in Rome. Our narrator is a whining, complaining, extremely self centered man who nevertheless has strong friendships. His ancestral home stands in for all of Austria in its falling victim to middle class values, a "hunter" sensibility rather than a "gardener" sensibility and a political leaning toward National Socialism and a strict version of Catholicism. The narrator excuses his rude, inconsiderate behavior by saying he is being true to himself.
I can't say that I enjoyed this book because I did not enjoy any of the characters and actively disliked the narrator, but the writing is almost an architectural wonder in its construction of the themes of the terrors of childhood and how they resonate all the way up to the level of national character.
The ending is a nice little triumph.