The Ballad of the Last Guest by Handke, Peter

The Ballad of the Last Guest

A novel about a man who returns home, only to find that home is now unrecognizable, by...
$39.01 AUD
$39.01 AUD
Please hurry! Only 58 left in stock
Author: Peter Handke
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Subtotal: $39.01

Free Shipping (Orders $60 USD or More)

The Ballad of the Last Guest by Handke, Peter

The Ballad of the Last Guest

$39.01

The Ballad of the Last Guest

$39.01
Author: Peter Handke
Format: Hardcover
Language: English

A novel about a man who returns home, only to find that home is now unrecognizable, by the Nobel laureate Peter Handke.

Gregor returns home from another continent. The landscape, formerly dotted with small villages, has been absorbed into the outskirts of a large city, both familiar and foreign at the same time. His father sits playing cards, waiting for him, but Gregor is surprised to find his sister holding an infant. He, the older brother, is to be the child's godfather--though he also carries with him the secret of his younger brother's death.

In the end, Gregor is never quite able to stay put. He is drawn out into the world, into the streets and alleys of what is now a city, to the cinema, the soccer stadium, the forest, and above all the old fruit orchard, now overgrown and beyond saving. As he walks, the present and the past become intertwined--memories of childhood surface, and inner voices enter into dialogue.

Revisiting many of the settings and themes of Peter Handke's previous works, The Ballad of the Last Guest takes stock of the changes that have been wrought on the land--and on human beings --over the course of the twenty-first century.

Author: Peter Handke
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: 12/02/2025
Pages: 176
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.49lbs
Size: 7.78h x 5.23w x 0.69d
ISBN: 9780374616151


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 08/29/2025 pg. 1
Publishers Weekly 10/13/2025
Kirkus Reviews 10/15/2025
Shelf Awareness 10/20/2025
Booklist 11/01/2025

About the Author

Peter Handke was born in Griffen, Austria, in 1942. His many novels include The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick, A Sorrow Beyond Dreams, My Year in the No-Man's-Bay, and Crossing the Sierra de Gredos, all published by FSG. Handke's dramatic works include Kaspar and the screenplay for Wim Wenders's Wings of Desire. Handke is the recipient of many major literary awards, including the Georg Büchner, Franz Kafka, and Thomas Mann Prizes and the International Ibsen Award. In 2019, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience."

Krishna Winston is the Marcus L. Taft Professor of German Language and Literature at Wesleyan University. She has translated more than thirty books, including previous works by Peter Handke and works by Werner Herzog, Günter Grass, Christoph Hein, and Goethe.

Returns Policy

You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).

If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.

Shipping

We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.

When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.

Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.

Related Products

Recently Viewed Products