Old Masters: A Comedy

Old Masters is a story about the friendship between two old men, Reger and Atzbacher, who have been sitting on the same bench in front of a Tintoretto painting in a Viennese museum for over thirty years, thinking and railing against contemporary society, art, and the state of public lavatories. It is a richly satirical portrait of culture, genius, nationhood, class, the value of art, and the pretensions of humanity.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 01 October 2020
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Old Masters is a devilishly funny story by Thomas Bernhard about the friendship between two old men. For over thirty years, Reger, a music critic, has sat on the same bench in front of a Tintoretto painting in a Viennese museum, thinking and railing against contemporary society, his fellow men, artists, the weather, even the state of public lavatories. His friend Atzbacher has been summoned to meet him, and through his eyes, we learn more about Reger - the tragic death of his wife, his thoughts of suicide, and, eventually, the true purpose of their appointment. At once pessimistic and exuberant, rancorous and hilarious, Old Masters is a richly satirical portrait of culture, genius, nationhood, class, the value of art, and the pretensions of humanity.

Weight: 190g
Dimension: 129 x 196 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780241459423