Description

Fiercely observed, often hilarious, and reminiscent of Ibsen and Strindberg (The New York Times Book Review), this exquisitely controversial novel was initially banned in its author s homeland. A searing portrayal of Vienna s bourgeoisie, it begins with the arrival of an unnamed writer at an artistic dinner hosted by a composer and his society wife–a couple he once admired and has come to loathe. The guest of honor, a distinguished actor from the Burgtheater, is late. As the other guests wait impatiently, they are seen through the critical eye of the writer, who narrates a silent but frenzied tirade against these former friends, most of whom have been brought together by Joana, a woman they buried earlier that day. Reflections on Joana s life and suicide are mixed with these denunciations until the famous actor arrives, bringing an explosive end to the evening that even the writer could not have seen coming.