50% Off The Criterion Collection Shop Now
On the Edge of Reason
From the great Croatian writer: a masterly work of literature—hilarious, unforgiving, and utterly reasonable

Until the age of fifty-two, the protagonist of On the Edge of Reason suffered a monotonous existence as a highly respected lawyer. He owned a carriage and wore a top hat. He lived the life of “an orderly good-for-nothing among a whole crowd of neat, gray good-for-nothings.” But, one evening, surrounded by ladies and gentlemen at a party, he hears the Director-General tell a lively anecdote of how he shot four men like dogs for trespassing on his property. In response, our hero blurts out an honest thought. From this moment, all hell breaks loose.

Written in 1938, On the Edge of Reason reveals the fundamental chasm between conformity and individuality. As folly piles upon folly, hypocrisy upon hypocrisy, reason itself begins to give way, and the edge between reality and unreality disappears.

"1000064351"
On the Edge of Reason
From the great Croatian writer: a masterly work of literature—hilarious, unforgiving, and utterly reasonable

Until the age of fifty-two, the protagonist of On the Edge of Reason suffered a monotonous existence as a highly respected lawyer. He owned a carriage and wore a top hat. He lived the life of “an orderly good-for-nothing among a whole crowd of neat, gray good-for-nothings.” But, one evening, surrounded by ladies and gentlemen at a party, he hears the Director-General tell a lively anecdote of how he shot four men like dogs for trespassing on his property. In response, our hero blurts out an honest thought. From this moment, all hell breaks loose.

Written in 1938, On the Edge of Reason reveals the fundamental chasm between conformity and individuality. As folly piles upon folly, hypocrisy upon hypocrisy, reason itself begins to give way, and the edge between reality and unreality disappears.

16.95 In Stock
On the Edge of Reason
Add to Wishlist
On the Edge of Reason

On the Edge of Reason

Overview

From the great Croatian writer: a masterly work of literature—hilarious, unforgiving, and utterly reasonable

Until the age of fifty-two, the protagonist of On the Edge of Reason suffered a monotonous existence as a highly respected lawyer. He owned a carriage and wore a top hat. He lived the life of “an orderly good-for-nothing among a whole crowd of neat, gray good-for-nothings.” But, one evening, surrounded by ladies and gentlemen at a party, he hears the Director-General tell a lively anecdote of how he shot four men like dogs for trespassing on his property. In response, our hero blurts out an honest thought. From this moment, all hell breaks loose.

Written in 1938, On the Edge of Reason reveals the fundamental chasm between conformity and individuality. As folly piles upon folly, hypocrisy upon hypocrisy, reason itself begins to give way, and the edge between reality and unreality disappears.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780811222044
Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation
Publication date: 06/06/2023
Pages: 192
Sales rank: 635,978
Product dimensions: 5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

During his long and distinguished career, the Croatian writer Miroslav Krleža (1893–1981) battled against many forms of tyranny. He wrote over forty novels, plays, and volumes of poetry and is widely considered to be the greatest Croatian writer of the twentieth century.

Read an Excerpt

"Human intelligence today is but nervous restlessness, or rather neurasthenic fussing amid the postdiluvian conditions of reality. We neurotic individuals are surrounded by dullards, landlords, owners of soda-water factories, honorable citizens and petit-bourgeois wearing bowlers and felt hats as they attend one another’s funerals.”

From the B&N Reads Blog
Page 1 of

Customer Reviews