Drei Versuche. Versuch über die Müdigkeit - Versuch über die Jukebox - Versuch über den geglückten Tag.

As of this date, Peter Handke has published five book-length essays:
Versuch über die Müdigkeit (1989) -- 52 pages
Versuch über die Jukebox (1990) -- 80 pages
Versuch über den geglückten Tag. Ein Wintertagtraum (1991) -- 108 pages
Versuch über den Stillen Ort (2012) -- 109 pages
Versuch über den Pilznarren: Eine Geschichte für sich (2013) -- 217 pages.

These book length essays are usually about 80 pages, but in the first edition hardcovers there print is large, they may appear shorter in a paperback edition. The essay has a lot of steam in the first 70 pages, but them seems to slack down as if it costs the author more effort, or suffering from lack of inspiration, to get on. One almost wonders why not stop there.

This means there is a show more gap of 23 years between the writing of Versuch über die Müdigkeit and Versuch über den Stillen Ort. The first three essays were published in three consecutive years between 1989 and 1991, while the last two were published in the consecutive years 2012 and 2013. Reading the essays it is obvious that the first two essays were conceived in the same time period, as there are interdependent references. For all essays it seems they were written in an initial spurt of creativity which lasts for the first two-thirds of the essay, while attention seems to wander, and the latter part is more strained, the writing not as spontaneous as the first part.

The first essays, Versuch über die Müdigkeit is the shortest and the least coherent. The second essay, Versuch über die Jukebox, is interesting because it describes the the phenomenon of the jukebox. Interestingly, the first two essays were apparently written while travelling in Spain, and that is also the only place I recall having seen and used a jukebox in the 1970s, as at that time they were still in use there.

Peter Handke's writing style is stilled, which can calm you down, if you have the patience to follow his pace and look at each detail he dishes up. All these essays represent just a free meandering of the author's mind, and the leisurely style translates into reading ease, making for a pleasant leisurely reading experience.

There is some development in the essays, in the sense that they become "better" and more focused, but more focused on "nothing". In a sense, they are a perfect waste of time: perhaps that's what literature is about. show less