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unBURIED Authors Q-T > Gerhard Roth

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message 1: by Nate D (last edited Dec 17, 2015 09:06AM) (new)
Mar 19, 2014 09:52AM

Nate D (rockhyrax) | 354 comments Born in 1942, Austrian experimental novelist Gerhard Roth initially planned (his wiki tells us) to follow his father into medicine. Instead, he worked for a time as an early computer programmer. Both of these details help to shed some light on the scientifically precise, yet distorted, dissections of reality that occur through the fragmented perceptions and viewpoints of Roth's literary origins. Besides these early novellas like the magnificent The Will to Sickness and The Autobiography of Albert Einstein, his major works include the seven part mixed-format Archives of Silence and a series of detournements of crime and noir fiction.

For some reason I've been reading quite a lot of Austrian experimental work lately, but Roth's is the best at the moment. A surprising amount has been translated, some affordably, all languishing largely unread. A couple appear in Atlas Press' seminal Printed Head series, of course.

Novels (noted where in translation):

die autobiographie des albert einstein, 1972 (The Autobiography of Albert Einstein)
Der Wille zur Krankheit, 1973 (The Will To Sickness)
Der große Horizont, 1974
Ein neuer Morgen, 1976
Winterreise, 1978 (Winterreise)
Die schönen Bilder beim Trabrennen, 1982

Die Archive des Schweigens ("The Archives of Silence"). Cycle of five novels, bookended by volumes of essays and photography, with the following parts:
Der Stille Ozean, 1980 (The Silent Ocean)
Landläufiger Tod, 1984
Am Abgrund, 1986 (On the Brink)
Der Untersuchungsrichter, 1988
Im tiefen Österreich, 1990
Die Geschichte der Dunkelheit, 1991 (The Story Of Darkness)
Eine Reise in das Innere von Wien, 1991

Der See, 1995 (The Lake)
Der Plan, 1998 (The Plan)
Der Berg, 2000
Der Strom, 2002
Das Labyrinth, 2004
Das Alphabet der Zeit, 2007


message 2: by Nate D (new)
Mar 19, 2014 02:59PM

Nate D (rockhyrax) | 354 comments What are the chances? Literally hours after compiling that list, I stumbled on a copy of Winterreise, in English, on the bargain rack outside of one of my usual bookstore haunts. When I made the list, I had no idea that one had ever been translated. Given this, it's entirely possible that many of the others have been as well. I'll be reading that one, and his first, shortly.


message 3: by Nate D (last edited Jun 18, 2015 07:51AM) (new)
Mar 27, 2014 02:19PM

Nate D (rockhyrax) | 354 comments Okay, so I've read four of these now, spanning the 70s and 80s. The first couple are his phenomenological-/perceptual-breakdown finest. A 70s answer to some of what Konrad Bayer was doing in the Austrian avant-garde of a decade before. Totally great. Later in the 70s, he enters a "realist" phase, grappling with more recognizable forms of disaffection and malaise, but still undercut by surreally juxtaposed observation consistent with his earlier work, and a continuing kind of collage technique, as well as occasional noir gestures. Totally worth getting on this one, BBC.


message 4: by S̶e̶a̶n̶ (new)
Nov 10, 2015 07:26AM

S̶e̶a̶n̶ (nothingness) | 93 comments Adding link to translation of Der See, from Nate's list above.


message 6: by [deleted user] (new)
Nov 14, 2018 10:03AM

I read The Will to Sickness recently and wrote a review here. Would appreciate any recommendations on where to go next by anyone who has read more of his work as well! (It's such a shame "The Archives of Silence" isn't translated in full, or uniformly.)


message 7: by S̶e̶a̶n̶ (new)
Nov 14, 2018 10:37AM

S̶e̶a̶n̶ (nothingness) | 93 comments Nate's post on March 27, 2014 above sums up Roth's progression pretty well. So you might try The Autobiography of Albert Einstein and Winterreise next. I'd also be interested in your take on On the Brink. The themes might appeal to you in that one.


message 8: by [deleted user] (new)
Nov 15, 2018 04:55AM

Thank you! I shall definitely grab On The Brink, and other parts of "The Archives of Silence" when I get the money too! Unfortunately Roth's paperbacks can be quite expensive


message 9: by Nate D (new)
Feb 07, 2019 12:18PM

Nate D (rockhyrax) | 354 comments Sean, didn't you say that The Lake was another essential? Still need to get on that all these years later.


message 10: by S̶e̶a̶n̶ (new)
Feb 07, 2019 12:33PM

S̶e̶a̶n̶ (nothingness) | 93 comments Yes, I really liked The Lake, though the style is different from his very early work.


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Books mentioned in this topic

The Lake. (other topics)
Winterreise (other topics)
the autobiography of albert einstein (other topics)
The Will To Sickness (other topics)
Der Stille Ozean (other topics)
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