In A Moment of True Feeling, Peter Handke deals with [the Kantian] problem of the perception of the world, crystallized in the problem of identity of Gregor Keuschnig…. In his private life, Keuschnig identifies himself on the basis of his perception of his image in public life. Others know him from their perception of that image. But one morning Keuschnig awakes to discover that that image by which he identifies himself and by which the world identifies him is out of sync with his own true existence. The world has collapsed on him and he can no longer know without doubt who he is. He has dreamed he is a murderer. But is he? So begins an odyssey into everyday occurrences, into the realms of perception and existence, treated with wit, humor, and irony…. [The reflex actions of the day's work] remain as background and reference to the true action of the novel which goes on in the isolation of Keuschnig's own being. These reflex actions and the struggle in Keuschnig's being become punctuated by moments of insight into the essence of true being—the tension within a branch, the sign in the Metro, the dripping of wax from a candle. The only person who realizes that there has been a change in Keuschnig is the writer invited to dinner at Keuschnig's apartment, who by chance has been stalking him all day. With such a structure, let the reader beware. The author (Handke) utilizes a writer (Handke?) who perceives a change in Keuschnig (Handke?—by way of biographical similarities), who in turn perceives the action of his existence as different from that which it really is (Handke on Handke?); and one must remember that this is fiction (don't get carried away with Handke). The novel piles level on level, filter on filter, lens upon lens, and then as is typical of Handke, ends as abruptly as it began. There is no resolution. As we are told in the opening sentence, the action is still going on. Reading such a novel can be a very frustrating endeavor, a frustration only alleviated by several readings. (pp. 166-67)