On a dark night I left my silent house

the long version

"On a Dark Night I Left My Silent House is Peter Handke's novel about one man's conflict with himself and his journey toward resolution. During one night shift, an unnamed middle-aged pharmacist in Taxham, an isolated suburb of Salzburg, tells his story to a narrator. The pharmacist is known and well respected, but lonely and estranged from his wife. He feels most comfortable wandering about in nature. One day he receives a blow to the head that leaves him unable to speak, and the narrative moves from ironic description into a collection of sensual impressions, observations, and reflections. The pharmacist, who is now called the driver, sets out on a quest, traveling with two companions - a former Olympic skiing champion and a once famous poet - into the Alps, where he is beaten and later stalked by a woman. He drives through a tunnel and has a premonition of death, then finds himself in a surreal, foreign land. In a final series of bizarre, cathartic events, the driver regains his speech and is taken back to his pharmacy - back to his former life, but forever changed."--BOOK JACKET.