The World-Fixer

This translation of Thomas Bernhard's Der Weltverbesserer makes a contemporary masterpiece available to English language readers for the first time. While echoing the dramatic works of Samuel Becket, Heiner Muller and Peter Handke, The World-Fixer is quintessentially Bernardian and one of his most stage-worthy plays. Presenting a theme he would explore in the play Ritter Dene Voss and the novels Wittgenstein's Nephew and The Loser, The World-Fixer revolves around a self-centred, self-styled genius loosely patterned on Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. The protagonist is the author of an obscure philosophical tract ostensibly designed to improve the condition of the world, if the world could only understand it. Over the course of a day, he looks forward to receiving an honorary degree, while reflecting on his life and engaging in dysfunctional banter. Combining absurdist comedy with an astute satire of academic pomposity, The World-Fixer ultimately gives a moving portrait of simple human frailty.