Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Selected Writings, Volume 2, Fictions

Fiction & Literature, Literary
Cover of the book Friedrich Dürrenmatt by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Friedrich Dürrenmatt ISBN: 9780226531182
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: February 15, 2017
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Friedrich Dürrenmatt
ISBN: 9780226531182
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: February 15, 2017
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

The Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–90) was one of the most important literary figures of the second half of the twentieth century. During the years of the cold war, arguably only Beckett, Camus, Sartre, and Brecht rivaled him as a presence in European letters. Yet outside Europe, this prolific author is primarily known for only one work, The Visit. With these long-awaited translations of his plays, fictions, and essays, Dürrenmatt becomes available again in all his brilliance to the English-speaking world.

This second volume of Selected Writings reveals a writer who may stand as Kafka’s greatest heir. Dürrenmatt’s novellas and short stories are searing, tragicomic explorations of the ironies of justice and the corruptibility of institutions. Apart from The Pledge, a requiem to the detective story that was made into a film starring Jack Nicholson, none of the works in this volume are available elsewhere in English. Among the most evocative fictions included here are two novellas: The Assignment and Traps. The Assignment tells the story of a woman filmmaker investigating a mysterious murder in an unnamed Arab country and has been hailed by Sven Birkerts as “a parable of hell for an age consumed by images.” Traps, meanwhile, is a chilling comic novella about a traveling salesman who agrees to play the role of the defendant in a mock trial among dinner companions—and then pays the ultimate penalty.

Dürrenmatt has long been considered a great writer—but one unfairly neglected in the modern world of letters. With these elegantly conceived and expertly translated volumes, a new generation of readers will rediscover his greatest works.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–90) was one of the most important literary figures of the second half of the twentieth century. During the years of the cold war, arguably only Beckett, Camus, Sartre, and Brecht rivaled him as a presence in European letters. Yet outside Europe, this prolific author is primarily known for only one work, The Visit. With these long-awaited translations of his plays, fictions, and essays, Dürrenmatt becomes available again in all his brilliance to the English-speaking world.

This second volume of Selected Writings reveals a writer who may stand as Kafka’s greatest heir. Dürrenmatt’s novellas and short stories are searing, tragicomic explorations of the ironies of justice and the corruptibility of institutions. Apart from The Pledge, a requiem to the detective story that was made into a film starring Jack Nicholson, none of the works in this volume are available elsewhere in English. Among the most evocative fictions included here are two novellas: The Assignment and Traps. The Assignment tells the story of a woman filmmaker investigating a mysterious murder in an unnamed Arab country and has been hailed by Sven Birkerts as “a parable of hell for an age consumed by images.” Traps, meanwhile, is a chilling comic novella about a traveling salesman who agrees to play the role of the defendant in a mock trial among dinner companions—and then pays the ultimate penalty.

Dürrenmatt has long been considered a great writer—but one unfairly neglected in the modern world of letters. With these elegantly conceived and expertly translated volumes, a new generation of readers will rediscover his greatest works.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Reading Clocks, Alla Turca by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Cover of the book Debating Darwin by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Cover of the book Unearthing the Nation by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Cover of the book Recalculating by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Cover of the book Atlas, or the Anxious Gay Science by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Cover of the book Beyond Nature and Culture by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Cover of the book Combative Politics by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Cover of the book Snakes, Sunrises, and Shakespeare by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Cover of the book Charles Ellis Johnson and the Erotic Mormon Image by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Cover of the book The Cell by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Cover of the book Meet Joe Copper by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Cover of the book The Myth of Disenchantment by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Cover of the book Sovereignty and the Responsibility to Protect by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Cover of the book Deep Refrains by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Cover of the book Musings on Mortality by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy