Who is your favorite author's favorite author, or at least

>>9113381
I just read The Loser for the exact same reason. Great book. If you like Gaddis you should definitely read some Bernhard.

>>9113424
Is it very similar to Gaddis? I'm working my way through Frolic now (my last remaining Gaddis) and I still want more.

>>9113381
really recommend to read bernhard (although i dont know about the translation quality). Maybe start with "Frost", "Verstörung", "Das Kalkwerk", "Auslöschung". If you enjoy one of these you can go for pretty much anything else. Haven't read his plays.

>>9113381
Bernhard has an ugly character.
4/10 would not love

>>9113460
He has the same cantankerous disdain for society (particularly Austrian society) as Gaddis does. His writing style is pretty different from most of what Gaddis did though. Agape Agape is modeled after Bernhard's books and refers to or quotes at least a couple of them.

>>9113465
>>9113488
Sweet, thanks so much. I'll start with Loser and see if I like it and go from there.

McCarthy mentioned Melville tho I'm not sure.
*spits*

I've read Concrete twice and bought The Old Masters and Correction acouple months ago, will probably read them later this year. I loved Concrete, it was a very engaging read and kinda impossible to put down because of the neurotic insistence of narrative voice. I need to read more by him. Never read any Gaddis though, heard good things.

Bernhard is great, maybe the greatest, this is the truth.

>>9114407
>>9114331
>>9113465
>>9113424
Never knew we had so many Bernhard readers on /lit/? Why do I never see discussion about him?

>>9114410
He used to be mentioned more (because 4chan loves edgy, miserable misanthropes) but the board moved a lot more towards Asian and postmodern authors, as well as to just "new" books.

>>9114410
No one wants to give up their favorite obscure author lol.

>>9114410
I don't think there's so much to discuss, at least in the way /lit/ conducts discussion. Most of the central themes of his works are spelt out quite clearly or can be inferred from his biography.

>>9114432
>obscure
>Bernhard
Pick one.

>>9114439
This. He's great to read but not in a way that really supports discussion because he just lays it all out there.

>>9114424
>because 4chan loves edgy, miserable misanthropes
Fun fact: just like Kafka Bernhard actually considered his own writings "funny" (which they indeed are btw).

>>9114509
But Kafka is funny. You're saying it as if he was deluded to think that. I, for one, find myself laughing a lot when I read him. I still have The Castle to go through and most of the short shorts but I'm saving these and taking them in small doses, as treats, usually one or two a day. They're a riot. Can't wait to start my first Bernhard.

>>9113381
Kafka and Hesse both expressed great admiration for Robert Walser.

He's pretty damn good.

Bernhard is really mediocre based on The Loser and Woodcutters. His style is atrocious and his pessimism is loosely worn without any substance behind it.

>>9114538
Have you read Berlin Stories? I fucking love it. There was one about two guys going around trying to meme some new slang and once it caught on they start to hate it. It's magnificent/

>>9114503
Furst puckler, perhaps.

Anyway yeah OP I have read Gargoyles (not so good), The Limeworks (good, the most violent and bleakest of his novels I've read), Walking (very good, hard to get into because the first 10 pages are very bland), Wittgenstein's Nephew (phenomenal, my favorite work by Bernhard), and Concrete (a close second to Wittgenstein's Nephew). I have Correction and Woodcutters up next to read.

I know Sebald really loved Bernhard. As did Bolaño.

Bernhard is just endlessly influential.

>>9114633
I started reading Bernhard because of Sebald's essay about him.

Don't forget to read Extinction eventually. It's his final novel and like a distillate of his life's work and style.