The existence as result of chances in Brother of sleep, by Robert Schneider

Abstract

Brother of sleep (Schlafes Bruder) is the first novel by the Austrian writer Robert Schneider, published in 1992. It tells the story of a music prodigy, who was born in a small village at the beginning of the nineteenth century. This paper aims to reflect on the series of obstacles that stop the protagonist, Elias Alder, from achieving professional and personal success, given the limitations of the community. The novel condenses modern and post-modern characteristics, such as the identity fragmentation, the irony, the estrangement and the breaking of narrative linearity.