Opium and other stories / Géza Csáth ; translated from the Hungarian by Jascha Kessler and Charlotte Rogers ; selected and with a biographical note by Marianna D. Birnbaum.
"First published in the United States of America under the title The magician's garden by Columbia University Press, 1980. Published in Penguin Books, 1983"--Verso t.p.
Contents:
The magician dies. Paul and Virginia -- An afternoon dream -- Saturday evening -- Trepov on the dissecting table -- Erna -- The surgeon -- Meeting mother -- Murder -- Little Emma -- Opium -- A young lady -- Festal slaughter -- A Joseph in Egypt -- Musicians -- The black silence -- Railroad -- Toad -- The pass -- Matricide -- A dream forgotten -- Father, son -- "Souvenir" -- The magician dies.
Summary:
"This spellbinding collection of stories by one of Eastern Europe's most visionary authors vividly depicts the darkest impulses of the human psyche and the irrationality lurking just beneath the surface of a seemingly rational society teetering on the verge of the abyss. Set against the backdrop of a Europe descending into the chaos of World War I, Csáth's stories possess clarity, insight, and at times are remarkable for their shock-value. They are unsettling and gothic, surreal and dreamlike, and each in its own way pierces the veil of normality to reveal a truth to which Csáth himself ultimately succumbed"--Front jacket flap.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.