Clairvoyant of the Small: The Life of Robert Walser

"Masterful. . . . This balanced & meticulous account shines a bright light on a misunderstood & influential writer."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
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The great Swiss-German modernist author Robert Walser lived eccentrically on the fringes of society, shocking his Berlin friends by enrolling in butler school & later developing an urban-nomad lifestyle in the Swiss capital, Bern, before checking himself into a psychiatric clinic. A connoisseur of power differentials, his pronounced interest in everything inconspicuous & modest—social outcasts & artists as well as the impoverished, marginalized, & forgotten—prompted W. G. Sebald to dub him “a clairvoyant of the small.” His revolutionary use of short prose forms won him the admiration of Franz Kafka, Walter Benjamin, Robert Musil, & many others.

He was long believed an outsider by conviction, but Susan Bernofsky presents a more nuanced view in this immaculately researched & beautifully written biography. Setting Walser in the context of early twentieth century European history, she provides illuminating analysis of his extraordinary life & work, bearing witness to his “extreme artistic delight.”

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Susan Bernofsky is associate professor of writing at Columbia University School of the Arts & director of the literary translation program in Columbia’s MFA Writing Program. She has translated over twenty books.