Fiercely observed often hilarious and reminiscent of Ibsen and Strindberg (The New York Times
Book Review) this exquisitely controversial novel was initially banned in its author s
homeland. A searing portrayal of Vienna s bourgeoisie it begins with the arrival of an unnamed
writer at an artistic dinner hosted by a composer and his society wife a couple he once admired
and has come to loathe. The guest of honor a distinguished actor from the Burgtheater is
late. As the other guests wait impatiently they are seen through the critical eye of the
writer who narrates a silent but frenzied tirade against these former friends most of whom
have been brought together by Joana a woman they buried earlier that day. Reflections on Joana
s life and suicide are mixed with these denunciations until the famous actor arrives bringing
an explosive end to the evening that even the writer could not have seen coming.
