{"product_id":"old-masters-a-comedy-9780226043913","title":"Old Masters: A Comedy","description":"In this exuberantly satirical novel, the tutor Atzbacher has been summoned by his friend Reger to meet him in a Viennese museum. While Reger gazes at a Tintoretto portrait, Atzbacher-who fears Reger's plans to kill himself-gives us a portrait of the musicologist: his wisdom, his devotion to his wife, and his love-hate relationship with\u003cbr\u003e art. With characteristically acerbic wit, Bernhard exposes the pretensions and aspirations of humanity in a novel at once pessimistic and strangely exhilarating. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Bernhard's . . . most enjoyable novel.\"-Robert Craft, \u003ci\u003eNew York\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eReview of Books\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Bernhard is one of the masters of contemporary European fiction.\"-George Steiner\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWidely acclaimed as a novelist, playwright, and poet, \u003cb\u003eThomas Bernhard\u003c\/b\u003e (1931-89) won many of the most prestigious literary prizes of Europe, including the Austrian State Prize, the Bremen and Brüchner prizes, and Le Prix Séguier. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Chicago Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50649772228882,"sku":"9780226043913","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_3f1974f6-fcb4-4242-8f06-940ef30b4398.jpg?v=1733273166","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/old-masters-a-comedy-9780226043913","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}