From Library Journal
In this heartwrenching account of his mother's illness and death, avant-garde Austrian novelist and playwright Handke (Once Again for Thucydides; Ride Across Lake Constance and Other Plays) details his struggle to tell the story of his mother's life and his relationship to her without turning it into an overwrought elegy. The result, first published in the United States in 1974 as part of a collection (this is the first time it has been published as a freestanding book), is indeed considered by most critics to be one of Handke's finest literary achievements, one that is much less abstract than much of his other writing. Seven weeks after his mother's suicide in 1971, Handke felt compelled to preserve his memories of her, of their life together during the postwar misery, and to record his rage over the problems that his mother left for him to solve after her death. Both his anger at this legacy and his admiration for his mother are obvious, and the essay is melancholy and lucid. Highly recommended for large public library and academic literary collections.Ali Houissa, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
After his mother’s suicide, Austrian novelist and playwright Peter Handke wanted to set down what he knew, or could say, about her life and the causes of her death before "the dull speechlessness ... the extreme speechlessness" of grief took hold forever. The result is an unsparing, deeply moving elegy in which writing keeps vigil at the limits of language, understanding, and life. This is a haunting memoir of a family tragedy by one of the most acclaimed — and controversial —contemporary writers whose style has been compared to Flaubert, Hemingway, and DeLillo. "Moving and beautifully realized." — The New York Times Book Review


Language Notes
Text: English, German (translation)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Peter Handke's mother was an invisible woman. Throughout her life - which spanned the Nazi era, the war, and the postwar consumer economy - she struggled to maintain appearances, only to arrive at a terrible recognition: "I'm not human any more." Not long after, she killed herself with an overdose of sleeping pills." In A Sorrow Beyond Dreams her sons sits down to record what he knows, or thinks he knows, about his mother's life and death before, in his words, "the dull speechlessness - the extreme speechlessness" of grief takes hold forever. And yet the experience of speechlessness, as it marks both suffering and love, lies at the heart of Handke's brief but unforgettable elegy. This austere, scrupulous, and deeply moving book is one of the finest achievements of a great contemporary writer.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

In this heartwrenching account of his mother's illness and death, avant-garde Austrian novelist and playwright Handke (Once Again for Thucydides; Ride Across Lake Constance and Other Plays) details his struggle to tell the story of his mother's life and his relationship to her without turning it into an overwrought elegy. The result, first published in the United States in 1974 as part of a collection (this is the first time it has been published as a freestanding book), is indeed considered by most critics to be one of Handke's finest literary achievements, one that is much less abstract than much of his other writing. Seven weeks after his mother's suicide in 1971, Handke felt compelled to preserve his memories of her, of their life together during the postwar misery, and to record his rage over the problems that his mother left for him to solve after her death. Both his anger at this legacy and his admiration for his mother are obvious, and the essay is melancholy and lucid. Highly recommended for large public library and academic literary collections.-Ali Houissa, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Charles McGrath