The President

Name: The President
ISBN: 9787208183742

托马斯·伯恩哈德 / 马文韬Shanghai People's Publishing House · ChinaNov 2024

4.3

Word count: 53K words
Chapters: 5
ISBN: 9787208183742

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Summary

In May 1975, The President premiered at the Vienna Academy Theatre (the second stage of the Burgtheater) in Austria. In an unnamed European country, the President and the First Lady are preparing to attend a funeral.

Not long before, an anarchist assassination attempt on the President failed; the President himself survived, while his close associate the Colonel and the First Lady's beloved dog lost their lives. As they wash and dress, the President and the First Lady review that harrowing attack and speak of a life at the heights of power, a life shadowed by fear.

Editor's review

Thomas Bernhard's The President is a profoundly powerful dramatic work and one of the representative works of his late period. It continues the author's signature style: sharp social critique, deep reflection on Austrian history and reality, and an almost obsessive, repetitive linguistic rhythm. The play's central scene is set in a fictional German-speaking country, where the President and the First Lady are preparing for an attempted assassination against the President. Yet Bernhard's pen does not turn toward political intrigue or action scenes; instead, it excavates the spiritual ruins of the central figure of power—fear, hypocrisy, indifference, and a utilitarian attitude toward art (symbolized by a pianist hired to play Schubert). The entire play is like a long monologue on death and nothingness staged in a sumptuous palace, with dialogue steeped in mockery and despair. As an editor, I believe the value of reading this work lies in its extreme literary form and intellectual intensity. Through his signature "musical" language (repetition, variation, layered progression), Bernhard constructs a suffocating theatrical space that forces the reader to confront the absurdity of the power system and the alienation of the individual within it. It is not a work that offers a pleasurable reading experience, but a cold, distorted mirror reflecting authority, historical trauma, and the dark side of human nature. For readers familiar with modern drama (such as Beckett and Handke), this is an indispensable reading adventure that challenges the intellect and the senses.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in modern drama, especially the German-language theatrical tradition
Literature enthusiasts willing to challenge traditional narrative structures and experience the tension of language and thought
Deep readers concerned with critiques of power, historical reflection, and existential themes
Students and scholars studying Thomas Bernhard and postwar Austrian literature

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking light entertainment or traditional plot-driven stories
Readers uncomfortable with extensive repetitive, incantatory dialogue and dark themes

Reading tips

It is advisable to first learn about the historical and cultural context of postwar Austria, which helps in understanding the context of Bernhard's critique
While reading, pay attention to the opposition and intertextual relationship between the music in the play (Schubert) and the content of the dialogue
Try reading some of the dialogue aloud to personally experience the unique rhythm and oppressive quality of Bernhard's language

About the publisher

Shanghai People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1951

Shanghai People's Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher whose list focuses on academic monographs and general-interest titles in philosophy, social sciences, politics and law, economics and management, and history. Among its books are Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties History in the Chinese Dynastic History series; The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy in foreign literature; the Wenjing Classical Translation Illustrated Edition of The Complete Greek Tragedies of Euripides; and works of social theory such as Max Weber's Economy and Society and Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments. Its authors include Wang Zhongluo, J.R.R. Tolkien, Luo Niansheng, and Zhou Zuoren.

版权信息
特立独行的伯恩哈德——伯恩哈德作品集总序
总统
以极端的夸张去认识和表现世界——代译后记
托马斯·伯恩哈德生平及创作

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a play?

The President is a dramatic script with clearly defined characters, stage directions, and dialogue; it is a dramatic text intended for performance or for reading as literature.

What are the characteristics of Bernhard's writing style?

Thomas Bernhard's style is known for sharp social critique, misanthropy, and long, repetitive sentence structures. His works are often full of anger and satire, and his language has a strong musical and hypnotic effect; his themes often revolve around death, illness, Austria's historical burden, and the situation of artists.

Is there a Chinese translation of this book? How is its quality?

Yes, the book is published by Shanghai People's Publishing House, ISBN 9787208183742, and is an officially published Chinese translation. The translator is Ma Wentao, a veteran translator of German literature, whose translation conveys the linguistic style and spiritual core of Bernhard's original work with considerable accuracy.

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About the author

托马斯·伯恩哈德 Author

Thomas Bernhard was an Austrian writer, with 12 of his works held in this collection, spanning the categories of general biography and foreign literature. Representative works include My Prize for Literature, Amras, Wittgenstein's Nephew: A Friendship, The Persian Woman · The Hatmaker, Bernhard's Artist Trilogy, The Loser, Heroes' Square, and The President. Public information is limited, and details of his life are not recorded in this collection. Judging from the works, he often takes literary prizes, friendship, the fate of artists, and structures of power as his subjects, in a cold, intense style marked by a distinct critical and self-reflective temperament. He worked in both fiction and drama, with a repetitive, musical language that has had a profound influence on twentieth-century German-language literature and on later writers.

马文韬 Author

Ma Wentao is a Chinese author about whom limited public information is available. Twelve of his works are held in the collection, generally classified under biography and foreign literature. Judging from his representative titles, his writing centers on German-language literature and artists: My Literary Prize and Wittgenstein's Nephew: A Friendship touch on literary prizes and personal relationships, while Bernhard's Artist Trilogy, Amras, The Loser, Heroes' Square, The President, and The Persian Woman · The Hatmaker point to the creative world of writers such as Thomas Bernhard. These titles suggest that Ma Wentao may work in the translation or commentary of foreign, especially German-language, literature, with an emphasis on biography and close reading of texts, attending to the situation of artists, spiritual predicaments, and literary institutions. Since his nationality, dates, and education are unknown, his biography cannot be outlined; readers can only approach his writing through these works.