Thomas Bernhard’s Städtebeschimpfungen

What can one learn about urban centres and networks from literature?
In some cases, a lot. In others, not so much. Städtebeschimpfungen
is a posthumous compilation of passages from various works, public
statements, and the correspondence of Thomas Bernhard (1931–
1989) exploring the topic of the unpleasantness of various cities. At
the core of their insults lies the phrase found in the frontispiece of
the book: ‘Die Welt ist insgesamt schon gänzlich Provinz geworden’
(translated elegantly by Julia Steding as: ‘The whole world is, by
now, a province’).

For a researcher of urbanism, or even for a traveller curious to
discover something new and unexpected in a place that he or she
will visit, this book seems to promise revelations and insights. This,
however, is not what Bernhard had on his mind. Instead of the traits
that characterize each city, one finds belligerent assaults. In this book,
all European cities are similar, if not the same. They are all ugly and
drab, and the German and Austrian towns in particular are filled
with echoes of their Nazi past (which are never described or elucidated
— they just are, reinforcing the unpleasantness Bernhard felt
about those towns).

If the hallmark of a good guide is to reveal the world in a new way,
Bernhard excels. One should perhaps read this book when travelling
to those maligned cities in order to discover whether they truly are as
ugly and as similar in nature as Bernhard suggests. Not, it should be
noted, that one would find many of the landmarks and sights mentioned
in the book — as a travel guide, it is disappointing. Perhaps
one should not let their footsteps be guided by authors after all?
Unless, of course, that author is Plutarch.

Phil Bach

Rear-viewer