On a Dark Night I Left My Silent House

Peter Handke
3.16
577 ratings 89 reviews
A short, powerful new novel by one of the greatest writers in the German language. On a Dark Night I Left My Silent House is Peter Handke's evocative, moving, often fantastic, novel about one man's conflict with himself and his journey toward resolution. During one night shift, an unnamed, middle-aged pharmacist in Taxham, an isolated suburb of Salzburg, tells his story to a narrator. The pharmacist is known and well-respected, but lonely and estranged from his wife. He feels most comfortable wandering about in nature, collecting and eating hallucinogenic mushrooms. One day he receives a blow to the head that leaves him unable to speak, and the narrative is transformed from ironic description into a collection of sensual impressions, observations and reflections. The pharmacist, who is now called the driver, sets out on a quest, travelling into the Alps with two companions--a former Olympic skiing champion and a formerly famous poet--where he is beaten and later stalked by a woman. He drives through a tunnel and has a premonition of death, then finds himself in a surreal, foreign land. In a final series of bizarre, cathartic events, the driver regains his speech and is taken back to his pharmacy--back to his former life, but forever changed. A powerful, poetic exploration of language, longing and dislocation in the human experience, On a Dark Night I Left My Silent House reveals Handke at his magical best.
Genres: FictionNobel PrizeGerman LiteratureLiterary FictionNovelsContemporary
186 Pages

Community Reviews:

5 star
79 (14%)
4 star
131 (23%)
3 star
216 (37%)
2 star
108 (19%)
1 star
43 (7%)

Readers also enjoyed

Other books by Peter Handke

Lists with this book

Girl Fighter
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death
Absence of Mercy
Brain Damage
104 books22 voters
The Prince of Darkness
Dark Dreams: Sexual Violence, Homicide And The Criminal Mind
Dead Until Dark
It Was A Dark & Stormy Night
109 books8 voters