I've just finished Thomas Bernhard's The Loser, a difficult, angry, book by a man who, famously, so despised his native Austria that his will banned all publication of his works in its borders (an interesting legal question all by itself).

I'm not writing to summarize, though, but to point out that the central theme of the book has application to all ambitious people. Wertheimer, the loser of the title, is a piano virtuoso on his way to the top when he hears Glenn Gould play Bach's Goldberg Variations. Realizing he can't ever play like Gould, the loser eventually disavows music, tries to engage in philosophy, gives away his piano, and then kills himself. That, essentially, is the book in a nutshell.

Of course, we all have our Wertheimer moments, in a less sublime way than recognizing Glenn Gould, and I suppose the test of ourselves is what we do. As someone said, we are all promoted to the level of our incompetence. Speaking for myself, it was only a week or two into law school that I realized that the real upper end of the profession wasn't open to me, no matter how much I worked. Most people's reaction is to accept at least some form of mediocrity. But Wertheimer's reaction really isn't all that implausible.

Bernhard is much recommended. But I can't stomach more than a few pages at a time, so budget a week or so.

Classmate, friend, and former blogger Josh Chafetz's book on legislative privilege-- Democracy's Privileged Few-- is at long last on the market. I have not yet read it, but will as soon as my exams are over. If it is anything like Josh's other writing, it will be engaging and smart.