Key

In An Eochair (The Key), one of Máirtín Ó Cadhain's most Kafkaesque short stories (and one of his longest), J., a 'paper-keeper,' one of the more junior civil servant positions, accidentally locks himself in his office when the key breaks in the lock. The story — a mixture of satire, farce, black comedy and, ultimately, tragedy — relates the efforts of J. and various other characters, his wife, civil service colleagues and superiors and others, to extricate himself from his predicament. How...