Narrative Style
Literary critics often compare Bernhard’s writing with Franz Kafka’s or that of Samuel Beckett. But Bernhard’s style has its own peculiarities, a profoundly innovative form, and a much darker edge. Whilst the characters and situations in Correction are as comical and sometimes as absurd as those of the above two modernists, they are also based on historical reality and a precise geography. As a result, there is a surprising weight and closeness to the existential ground his characters ultimately tread upon. When Bernhard’s satire bends into horror as the novel progresses, there is little allegorical distance for the reader to retreat into. The culminating tragedy feels both personal and claustrophobic.
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