Peter Handke is one of the most prolific and significant contributors to Austrian literature of the latter twentieth century. Controversy has beset this dramatist, novelist, essayist, poet, scriptwriter, and diarist from the beginning of his career: some critics hail him as an avant-garde genius while others dismiss him as a neurotic, narcissist, or charlatan. The problematic nature of Handke's oeuvre stems from its rigorously experimental and self-critical nature. His literary explorations question the integrity and value of literature and of art in general, thereby raising questions about the mission, meaning, and ultimate value of his own works.

Handke was born on 6 December 1942 in Griffen, Austria. His father, a bank clerk, was married to someone other than Handke's mother; she entered into a marriage of convenience with Bruno Handke, a German army sergeant stationed in Austria. The family lived in Berlin with Handke's stepfather's parents from 1944 to 1948, then returned...