The Loser

Thomas Bernhard · 1931–1989 · Austria

Originally Der Untergeher (German)

Why it matters

Two pianists abandon music after hearing Glenn Gould, unable to bear their own mediocrity. Bernhard's unparagraphed, obsessive monologue on genius, envy, and self-destruction.

At a glance

A single unbroken paragraph of obsessive, looping, repetitive interior monologue.