Showing titles in Absurdist

“A propulsive, madcap story” (The New York Times) about a salaryman who decides to put his life up for sale in the classifieds section of a Tokyo newspaper after a botched suicide attempt. "An outstanding writer not only of Japan, but of the world." —The Atlantic After salaryman Hanio...

"These immersive linked stories grapple with Ukrainian history through the waning years of the USSR and birth pangs of democracy ... Reva's characters spark off the page as they confront a brutal bureaucratic past with the only tool they possess—hope."—O, The Oprah Magazine A brilliant and...

*BONUS: Includes the viral essay sensation "The Crane Wife"* "An innovative work of climate fiction, a nuanced and empathic family story, and, for my money, the summer's best novel thus far." --NPR.org "The most oddly enticing novel you will read this year...Keenly satirical yet unashamedly...

A hypnotic collection of speculative fiction about compassion, love, and human resilience in the technological hyper-age, from Alexander Weinstein, author of Children of the New World. Universal Love welcomes listeners to a near-future world where our everyday technologies have fundamentally...

“The daily grind got you down? Escape into this Swedish dark comedy about a scaldingly contemptuous office drone who discovers a secret room in his workplace.”—O: The Oprah Magazine The inspiration for the upcoming feature film Corner Office, starring Jon Hamm Björn is a compulsive...

What if London’s heaviest man weighed absolutely nothing? In this brilliantly bizarre, darkly comedic tale by H.G. Wells, an annoyed gentleman named Formalyn is relentlessly badgered by Pyecraft - the most monstrously obese, insufferable clubman in London. Desperate to escape his massive size...

WINNER OF THE ATWOOD GIBSON WRITERS’ TRUST FICTION PRIZE WINNER OF THE AMAZON CANADA FIRST NOVEL AWARD WINNER OF THE GORDON BURN PRIZE WINNER OF THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE WINNER OF THE ETHEL WILSON FICTION PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE AND THE THE DUBLIN...

From one of the preeminent literary voices in Israel comes a darkly funny collection of surrealist stories exploring the increasingly complex relationship between humans and technology. Set in our world, alternate realities, distant futures, and the immortal realm, the stories in Autocorrect...

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR For fans of Interior Chinatown and American War, a surreal, hilarious, and sneakily profound debut novel that casts our current climate of gun violence and environmental destruction in a surprising new mold. A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN OUR CULTURE...

Meursault, ein unscheinbarer Büroangestellter in Algier, tötet an einem sonnendurchfluteten Strand einen Mann. Vor Gericht schockiert nicht die Tat an sich, sondern Meursaults kühle Gleichgültigkeit. Er weinte nicht am Grab seiner Mutter, geht danach eine Affäre ein und empfindet weder Reue noch tiefe Trauer. Die Gesellschaft verurteilt ihn nicht nur für den Mord, sondern für seine Weigerung, sich den etablierten Gefühlswelten und Regeln anzupassen.

A man known only as K. arrives in a mysterious town where an all-powerful castle filled with unseen "gentlemen" controls every aspect of life. When the ridiculous bureaucracy of the castle officials makes K.'s original reason for coming to the village, working as a land surveyor, seem impossible, K. must find a way to make a life within a system where the only answer he ever seems to get is "no". K. struggles in vain to get in contact with anyone at all within the castle to help solve his predicament. But still, there may be some tenderness to be found in this absurdist landscape.

Awarded a three-month stipend to travel and work, a Swedish writer flies to Madrid, where in a bar she meets a man with an extraordinary story to tell. In exchange for somewhere to sleep and to hide out for a few days, he is willing to tell her the whole astonishing tale. What follows is an account of fantastic proportions and ingredients: the existence of a shadowy Internet TV show with a certain morality clause, a threat to the storyteller's life, a diabolical nun, and the story of a girl with a missing left thumb.

Sheckley's satirical humor shines through as Edward Moran Archer previews the different levels of hell, from the mundane to the outrageous. Each punishment is tailored to fit the individual's sins, and Archer quickly realizes the gravity of his choices. As he reflects on his life and the impact of his actions, Archer must come to terms with his own beliefs and face the consequences of his decisions. As time passes, he is forced to confront the reality of his existence and the choices that led him to this moment.

Колонії, вілли... Миколи Хвильового — гротесково-сатирична новела, в якій викривається сите безтурботне життя «обраних» людей. Герої твору — мешканці вілл, щасливці нового часу, яким вдалося зайняти зручне крісло і які тепер насолоджуються життям.українська література, класична література, українська література XX століття, гротесково-сатирична новела, людські емоції, психологія людини, життєві обставини, моральні конфлікти, сенс життя, розстріляне відродження, українська

Als Blumfeld nach Hause kommt, findet er dort zwei kleine Bälle vor, die auf und ab springen. Von nun an begleiten sie ihn ständig; er kann sie nicht abschütteln, bis er sie in seinen Schrank einsperrt. Denn bei der Ausübung seines Berufes in der Wäschefabrik wären diese Bälle ja eher hinderlich... Skurril, absurd, Kafka.

Nur wenige seiner Werke hielt Franz Kafka für so gelungen, dass sie der Nachwelt erhalten bleiben sollten. Der Landarzt gehört dazu. Der Arzt wird nachts zu einem Schwerkranken gerufen - so beginnt eine typisch kafkaeske Erzählung voller rätselhafter Ereignisse und Aussagen. So etwas konnte wirklich nur einer schreiben: Franz Kafka.

The Novices of Lerna introduces the enigmatic fictions of Ángel Bonomini to English listeners for the first time. Shot through with wry humor and tender absurdity, these meditations on identity, surveillance, and isolation remain eerily prescient. The collection's central novella follows Ramon Beltra, an unambitious scholar who receives a mysterious invitation to a lucrative six-month fellowship at the University of Lerna in Switzerland.

"Kafka erscheint uns rätselhaft, dabei schreibt er doch eigentlich in einer schlichten Prosa, seine Schilderungen sind präzise, seine Personen reden in einfachen Worten und es wird weder um das, was sie tun, noch um das, das sie reden, noch um das, was ihnen zustößt, ein großes Gewese gemacht. Aber wir verstehen nicht. Oder glauben, nicht zu verstehen. Oder wir verstehen, können aber nicht sagen, was eigentlich. Wir glauben immer etwas anderes, Drittes ausmachen zu müssen, das mit dem, was dort passiert, eigentlich bezeichnet wird, wir versuchen, das Rätsel zu lösen.

Tutto comincia con una domanda: Ma tu sei felice? È l'inizio di un dialogo all'apparenza ordinario, quello tra Vincenzo e Saverio, due amici seduti al tavolino di un bar per il classico aperitivo. Vincenzo ha un problema che riguarda suo figlio: un incidente con un compagno di classe, una maestra indelicata, un colloquio imbarazzante. Saverio ha un dilemma più immediato: la sua dieta iperproteica funzionerà davvero? Entrambi sono presi dall'epica di una quotidianità le cui tappe obbligate prevedono di prendersi cura della famiglia, sopravvivere al lavoro, arrivare a fine mese, oltre naturalmente a mentire, tradire, imbrogliare.

In seventy-two hours, a blockbuster expose will reveal Victoria Stevens's multibillion-dollar startup as a massive fraud. And Victoria has gone missing. Has she faked her death, leaving her husband, Guy Sarvananthan, to face the fallout—and potential jail time? Should Guy flee to his native Sri Lanka, an outcast and a failure? Or embrace denial? Opting for the latter, he takes the corporate jet to a private Caribbean island, where the 0.0001% have gathered to decide which one of the world's biggest problems to "eradicate forever."