Zur Erinnerung an Thomas Bernhard: eine ganz besondere Ausgabe, gestaltet von Erwin Wurm. Eines der schönsten Bücher Österreichs 2019.

In memory of his idol Thomas Bernhard, the internationally renowned artist Erwin Wurm has created a unique special edition. In dedication to the author, Wurm has produced a series of new drawings – affectionate, wry and very personal. "The Cause" and its consequences: in five stories between fact and fiction Thomas Bernhard laid bare how he became the author he was – from his childhood and boarding school days in Salzburg, his apprenticeship and studies, through to his isolation in a lung sanatorium at the age of eighteen. Those who want to understand Thomas Bernhard's world will find the key to it here.

Eine kongeniale Graphic Novel, die sich dem großen Autor mit Respekt und zeichnerischer Frische nähert.

In the first of his autobiographical books, Thomas Bernhard carries out a root cause analysis that spares nothing and no one. The boarding school was a prison and the town of Salzburg a terminal disease, where destruction was omni-present. The only guiding light was his grandfather, who spoke to him about Mozart, Rembrandt and Beethoven. These “root causes”, which are more than just hinted at by Bernhard, leave indelible traces across all his work. With precise, sparing strokes and a poignant use of repetition and variation, Lukas Kummer has succeeded in creating a visual take on Thomas Bernhard’s recollections of the horrors of boarding school, war and National Socialism. This is a sympathetic graphic novel that approaches the great author with respect and originality.

Wie Thomas Bernhard Thomas Bernhard wurde

The causes were catastrophic: the boarding school was a prison, the town a terminal disease. There was war and there was his grandfather, who only talked to him about the masters, Mozart, Rembrandt and Beethoven. The causes were destructive, and they left indelible traces in Thomas Bernhard’s life and work.