It is a narrative that only slowly circles to its actual story. The writer recounts a story that someone has told him, but he takes his time in getting to it, first setting scenes, filling in background, preparing the reader. The story itself is also an unusual one. Nevertheless, the novel is gripping from the beginning, a testament to Handke's talents. This reflects Handke's own interests and strengths.
Few writers are able to make as much from such a focus.
On a Dark Night I Left my Silent House begins with a description of Taxham, a small and easily overlooked town near Salzburg, in Austria. The two form a friendship of sorts with the unnamed Taxham pharmacist, and it is, eventually, the pharmacist's story that gets told. Before getting to the actual story Handke describes the pharamacist's life, an essential aspect of the story itself. He does eventually take great interest in his story, a narrative that mirrors life, is an essential part of it, but is also apart from it. But if I continued to stand by, it would've been done for, and everything that had gone before null and void.