
On the Edge of Reason
Miroslav Krleza(Author)
New Directions Publishing Corporation
Published on 6. June 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
192 pages
978-0-8112-2204-4 (ISBN)
Description
Until the age of fifty-two, the protagonist of On the Edge of Reason suffered a monotonous existence as a highly respected lawyer. He owned a carriage and wore a top hat. He lived the life of "an orderly good-for-nothing among a whole crowd of neat, gray good-for-nothings." But, one evening, surrounded by ladies and gentlemen at a party, he hears the Director-General tell a lively anecdote of how he shot four men like dogs for trespassing on his property. In response, our hero blurts out an honest thought. From this moment, all hell breaks loose.
Written in 1938, On the Edge of Reason reveals the fundamental chasm between conformity and individuality. As folly piles upon folly, hypocrisy upon hypocrisy, reason itself begins to give way, and the edge between reality and unreality disappears.
Written in 1938, On the Edge of Reason reveals the fundamental chasm between conformity and individuality. As folly piles upon folly, hypocrisy upon hypocrisy, reason itself begins to give way, and the edge between reality and unreality disappears.
Reviews / Votes
"An attack on conformity. " -- Library Journal "Krleza is a shrewd observer of man as social animal, and his wry, sardonic style fits cleanly into the Eastern European tradition of bureaucratic satire by the likes of Kafka, Karel Capek, and Jaroslav Hasek." -- Publishers Weekly (Starred) "Paris had its Balzac and Zola; Dublin, its Joyce; Croatia, its Krleza. One of the most accomplished, profound authors in European literature." -- Saturday Review "On the Edge of Reason is one of the great European novels of the first half of the twentieth century." -- Susan Sontag "A tale of refusal to match Herman Melville's Bartleby, the Scrivener - though its nameless protagonist has more fun than Bartleby ever does." -- Lily Meyer - NPRMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 201 mm
Width: 134 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
178 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8112-2204-4 (9780811222044)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
During his long and distinguished career, the Croatian writer Miroslav Krleza (1893-1981) battled against many forms of tyranny. He wrote over forty novels, plays, and volumes of poetry and is widely considered to be the greatest Croatian writer of the twentieth century. Zora Depolo also translated Krleza's The Return of Philip Latinowicz. Joshua Cohen was born in 1980 in Atlantic City. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction 2022 for The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family. He lives in New York City.