The BURIED Book Club discussion

4 "distinct" works - 34 Ratings - 4 Reviews

From the Atlas Press write up of The Sixth Sense:

Konrad Bayer and his fellow members of The Vienna Group took as their mission the reinvention of the post-war avant-garde in Austria after the destruction wrought by National Socialism. He — along with Friedrich Achleitner, H.C. Artmann, Gerhard Ruhm, and Oscar Wiener — developed a unique blend of philosophical speculation and poetic experimentation which incorporated bizarrely heterogeneous elements: the dark humour of Surrealism, the extravagances of German Romanticism, the fabulous conjunctions of alchemy, the linguistic precision of Wittgenstein.

And, from his wikipedia:

Konrad Bayer (17 December 1932 – October 1964) was an Austrian writer and poet. A member of the Wiener Gruppe, he combined apparently irreconcilable elements—violence, hermeticism, pessimism, ecstasy, banality—and influences (dadaism, surrealism, pataphysics, Wittgenstein, Stirner, Sade et al.)—into a bizarre[citation needed] linguistic solipsism which has held increasing fascination for German writers of the last few decades. His most important works are the novels Der Kopf Vitus Berings (The Head of Vitus Bering) and Der sechste Sinn (The Sixth Sense), published posthumously in 1965 and 1966, respectively. Bayer committed suicide in October 1964 at the age of 32.

He appears to have three main works available in English, all three published by Atlas:

The Sixth Sense
The Head of Vitus Bering
Selected Works

Those first two are still readily available, the third is currently going a bit high for my taste.

Publisher description of The Sixth Sense:

One of the finest flowerings of this impassioned quest is the sixth sense, the novel Bayer had all but finished at the time of his suicide. In it he creates a metaphysical theatre of the word that wryly undermines the very language from which it is constructed. Time and identity are turned inside out in a series of elaborately interwoven episodes set against a backdrop of riots and cataclysms, labyrinths of stone or throbbing meat, and bucolic scenes populated by toyland figures… and not forgetting the inevitable bars of Vienna.

And of The Head of Vitus Bering:

the head of vitus bering, the second major publication of the Austrian writer Konrad Bayer (1932-1964), was the most important work written during the existence of the so-called Vienna Group, a constellation of highly gifted, radically experimental writers bent on creating a new tradition out of the ashes of the Second World War. Gerhard Rühm and H. C. Artmann, two colleagues during this period, describe the book variously as Bayer’s “pinnacle” and “a magnificent book. Bayer’s true biography, composed with poetry and elegance.” But Bayer’s own description is more telling: “perhaps a trepanation.”

Constructed from a montage of events, images, facts and allusions that “unite and coordinate the past and future to one point,” Bayer turns the historical adventure of the sea captain Vitus Bering, who sailed to discover whether America was linked to Asia, into a metaphor for inner voyage and ultimate liberation “from opinions and thoughts.” Against the backdrop of a chilling “outside” reality in which the logic of a mechanical universe is beginning to run riot, and all subjective distance washed away, the reader is drawn into a vortex of unnerving paradoxes, a calculating machine of sublime horrors - “the birth pangs of initiation.”

Anything Atlas is intriguing, and now Bayer in particular much more so! Thanks!

Minutes later: okay okay, I broke down and snapped up a copy of The Sixth Sense. Only 999 in existence!?

Yeah, I very much need to read some more Atlas stuff. I was messing around on their site when I came across Bayer. I've got the two readily available books of his on the way now, with some high hopes.

The Head of Vitus Bering has now been reviewed!

A very strong work of experimental fiction - with a heavy emphasis on structural experimentation. Get on it.

The Sixth Sense is also proving quite worthwhile, if deliberately scattered in approach. Scattered, flung wide, its parts sparkle. I snagged Vitus Bering as well, now. Thanks for the tip, I kind of can't believe these weren't being read more.

Nate D wrote: "The Sixth Sense is also proving quite worthwhile, if deliberately scattered in approach. Scattered, flung wide, its parts sparkle. I snagged Vitus Bering as well, now. Thanks for the..."

That's good to hear that TSS is turning out worthwhile - my copy finally showed up on Saturday, and I'm pretty sure I've got three books in front of it, but should be able to get to it by the weekend.

I'm also a bit surprised they're not more known/read based on Vitus - I'm looking forward to TSS.

The Sixth Sense has been read and reviewed. I liked it; I thought Vitus was a bit better, but it's still a great little read.

Both The Sixth Sense and The Head of Vitus Bering are currently on sale from Atlas Press until the end of March. The prices will increase progressively after that until the print runs sell out.

Atlas links:

The Sixth Sense

The Head of Vitus Bering

Bayer's Selected Works is also recommended. It's out of print, but findable through interlibrary loan.

--Corvid (formerly Sean)

Nice! If I did not have these already...