Gerhard Roth burst on the German-speaking scene in the early 1970s with three fiercely experimental novels, among them our present Der Wille zur Krankheit (1973). It is here that Roth developed his “objective” prose, his aggregates of minute observations and impressions. The subjective narrator perceives, notes, thinks. Representation eludes his perspective. The effect is surreal with an undertone of Angst: “i am preparing a slow disintegration of the external world inside my head.”