Of Seven Fir Trees and the Snow: Early Stories(The German List)

These newly translated stories chart the making of a literary provocateur, one experiment and ethical dilemma at a time. Before Thomas Bernhard became one of the most provocative voices in modern literature, he was a young writer testing the limits of form and subject. Of Seven Fir Trees and the Snow offers an unprecedented look at his evolution, from his earliest published work at nineteen to the emergence of his unmistakable voice. Translated into English for the first time, in these stories, Bernhard moves from stark naturalism to fairy-tale simplicity to the eerie, stripped-down surrealism reminiscent of science fiction. At the same time, he grapples with the fundamental ethical questions that would define his career: how does one navigate personal autonomy in a world fractured by the upheavals of the twentieth century? Selected and arranged in chronological order by Douglas Robertson, this collection traces Bernhard's transformation from an ambitious chronicler of Austrian rural life to a writer in dialogue with the broader currents of world literature. A rare glimpse into the making of a literary icon, this volume is essential reading for both longtime admirers and those discovering Bernhard's singular genius for the first time.

Table of Contents:
Translator’s Acknowledgment 1.The Red Light 2.The Settlers 3.A Big-City Afternoon 4.Of Seven Fir Trees and the Snow 5.Crazy Magdalena 6.The Legacy 7.The Poorhouse of St. Laurin 8.Great, Inconceivable Hunger 9.A Winter’s Day in the Mountains 10.The Decline of the West 11.The Landscape of the Mother 12.An Oldish Man Named August 13.The Story of a Man Who Left Home to See the World 14.The Pig-Keeper 15.Occurrences 16.A Springtime 17.A Witness’s Testimony 18.A Young Writer 19.A Country Confidence Man 20.A Woman from the Foundry and the Man with the Rucksack 21.Lowlands Translator’s Notes

About the Author :
Thomas Bernhard (1931–89) grew up in Salzburg and Vienna, where he studied music. In 1957 he began a second career as a playwright, poet, and novelist. He went on to win many of the most prestigious literary prizes in Europe, including the Austrian State Prize, the Bremen and Brüchner prizes, and Le Prix Séguier. Douglas Robertson is a translator based in Keystone, Florida. He has translated many works from German into English and has studied Thomas Bernhard’s work for over ten years.