A sorrow beyond dreams

Kein Urteil, kein literarisches Denkmal für eine Mutter, kein abgeschlossenes Bild, nach dessen Beendigung der Autor und mit ihm der Leser befreit aufatmen könnte, sondern die Beschreibung einer grausigen offenen Wunde. - Helmut Scheffel - Back cover. Peter Handke's mother, Maria Handke, committed suicide in 1971. Within a few weeks, Peter Handke set about the task of reconstructing his mother's life in the form of a narrative. As he explains in the story, he did this partly in order to come to terms with his own grief, by attempting to make sense of the path her life had taken, and partly to give substance to her existence by creating a memorial. Handke constantly assesses the course of his mother's life in relation to the social, historical, political, and cultural influences to which she was exposed. - Introduction of Manchester University Press edition (1993).