Handke, Peter (Vol. 135) - Ursula Hegi (review date 1 July 1990)

Ursula Hegi (review date 1 July 1990)

SOURCE: “Only Disconnect,” in Los Angeles Times Book Review, July 1, 1990, p. 3.

[In the following review, Hegi complains that Absence lacks characterization and creates intentional linguistic gaps.]

The four nameless characters in Peter Handke's latest novel are like paper dolls, suspended against a bleak sky in a chain of silhouettes that block the scant light. Told in a strangely passive voice that appears to rise from a void, Absence is not only about the condition of being absent—it also demonstrates the condition through the absence of words, connections and characterization.

Though Handke's characters are indifferent and detached, his language soars at times. His old man “resembles an old singer, long fallen silent.” The woman, who has been told by her lover that she is corrupt and destructive, lives surrounded by photos of herself in which she “displays the...

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