Across (Masterplots II: World Fiction Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Peter Handke
- First Published: 1983
- Type of Work: Philosophical novel
- Time of Work: The early 1980’s
- Setting: A suburb of Salzburg, Austria
- Principal Characters: Andreas Loser
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Philosophical realism
- Subjects: Teaching or teachers, Murder or homicide, Alienation, 1980’s, Existentialism, Austria or Austrians, Archaeology or archaeologists
- Locales: Salzburg, Austria
The Novel
Across is a first-person narrative with little plot action. It consists of three major sections and an epilogue. Andreas Loser is a teacher of ancient languages at a high school in a suburb outside Salzburg, Austria. He lives separated from his wife and two children. He considers himself to be an observer of, and not a participant in, life. One day, Loser deliberately knocks over a passerby while walking in Salzburg. He does not know why he does it, but only that he must act—that it is now or never. He is clearly undergoing some kind of inner crisis,...
[The entire page is 1853 words long]
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