"Awakening to the great sleep war is one of the loveliest riddles of European literature: an expedition through a world in constant nervous motion, where reality is rapidly fraying. This enormously comic and finally quite moving tale is perhaps Gert Jonke's masterpiece."--Book cover.
Told that he recently attempted suicide, a man awakens in an insane asylum with no memory of his actions, or even of his own name...
"This bizzare, lyrical romp of a novel begins with two wealthy siblings preparing their estate for their annual garden party, to which they've invited "several artists and above all many of the people variously involved in the further development of intellectual life." The first sign that this year's party will be a little different is that the siblings have had paintings made of every inch of their garden, and are hanging the paintings in place of the garden itself. We soon learn that this is just the beginning: the siblings have decreed that this year's party will be an exact repetition of the party they held last year. Everyone will say and do exactly the same things, whether they'd like to or not."--BOOK JACKET.
An innovative satire on the process by which bureaucracy and official regimentation insidiously pervade society. In a deadpan, pseudo-scientific tone, the nameless narrator takes us on a tour of a bizarre village whose inhabitants lead such habitual, regulated lives that they resemble elements in a mathematical equation.