The Moravian Night

The Moravian Night (German: Die morawische Nacht) is a 2008 novel by the Austrian writer Peter Handke. It tells the story of a retired writer who talks about a recent journey and the state of Europe in front of a small crowd on his houseboat, while anchored outside the village Porodin on the river Morava in Serbia.

The Moravian Night

Author	Peter Handke
Original title	Die morawische Nacht
Translator	Krishna Winston
Language	German
Publisher	Suhrkamp Verlag
Publication date	12 January 2008
Publication place	Germany
Published in English	6 December 2016
Pages	560
ISBN	978-3-518-41950-2

The book was published in English in 2016, translated by Krishna Winston.

Reception

Critical response

Publishers Weekly wrote: "In this story where memory and reality battle, Handke (The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick) once again showcases his valuable insight and imagination."^[1] Kirkus Reviews wrote: "A sad story—perhaps, but one in which fantasy and history dance nimbly. Stellar."^[2] Joshua Cohen wrote in The New York Times that The Moravian Night "might be the most important novel of Handke's career", and that "Handke has written a poignant book almost despite himself, or to spite the day, out of the grim confusion of his ruins".^[3] The Moravian Night was subsequently reviewed in The New York Review of Books,^[4] The Times Literary Supplement^[5] and Bookforum.^[6]

Accolades

The Moravian Night was longlisted for the 2008 German Book Prize, although the nomination was rejected by Handke, according to himself out of respect for the younger writers on the list.^[7] The book was also longlisted for the 2008 European Book Prize.^[8]

References

1. "Fiction Book Review: The Moravian Night by Peter Handke". Publishers Weekly. 2016-10-10. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
2. "The Moravian Night by Peter Handke". Kirkus Reviews. 2016-10-01. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
3. Cohen, Joshua (2016-12-30). "Peter Handke's Time-Traveling Tale of a Europe in Flux". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
4. Kirsch, Adam (2017-02-09). "The Stranger in Love". New York Review of Books. ISSN 0028-7504. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
5. "Peter Handke's Moravian Night". TheTLS. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
6. "The Moravian Night by Peter Handke". www.bookforum.com. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
7. ber/dpa (2008-09-04). "Deutscher Buchpreis: Peter Handke verzichtet auf Nominierung". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 2017-01-20.
8. "Présélection 2008 – Romans" (in French). European Book Prize. Retrieved 2017-01-20.

External links

• German publicity page (in German)
• American publicity page