699. Yes

Yes
Thomas Bernhard
1978

Around 140 pages

Only one more novel until we reach 700! I'm also pumped to finish up the 70s. It's been a weird decade.

The opening sentence of Yes is 477 words long, which is certainly less memorable than "Call me Ishmael." Our narrator is a scientist working on antibodies. He meets a Persian woman at an office in rural Austria. His long talks with the woman give him meaning, but they both still want to kill themselves because it's a Bernhard novel.

Well, this certainly wouldn't be my book of choice if I was trying to read myself off the ledge. I guess there's a slight controversy if Bernhard chose doctor assisted suicide, or died by heart attack. I wouldn't be surprised if he had died by suicide, with the way he writes about it here. 

We still have a few Bernhards on the List, so he will have even more time to bum us out.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Often criticized in Austria as a Nestbeschmutzer (one who dirties his own nest) for his critical views, Bernhard was highly acclaimed in other countries.

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