An award-winning Slovak novella and three additional short stories. This collection, by an author described as "the Slovak Kafka," shares a unique dark humor, along with a commitment to satire and truth. The novella features a nameless narrator reflecting on his life, looking for someone else to blame for his failed relationship with his parents and two sons, his serial adultery, the breakup of his marriage and his wife's descent into madness. Balla (born 1967), who goes only by his surname, has been called "the uncrowned king of Slovak outsiders and misfits." He has published ten books of mostly short fiction.