Never before translated short stories stark and haunting San Francisco Chronicle by the legendary genius 193gota Krist Here, in English at last, is a collection of 193gota Krist short sometimes very short stories, which she selected herself, translated by the peerless Chris Andrews. Written immediately before her masterful trilogy The Notebook, The Proof, The Third Lie, Kristof short fictions oscillate between parable, surrealist anecdotes, and stories animated by a realism stripped to the bone, often returning to the theme of exile the twin impossibilities of returning home and of home elsewhere. The world of the book has very hard edges. cruelty is almost omnipresent, peace and consolation are scarce. Austere and minimalist, but with a poetic force that shifts the walls in the reader mind, Kristof penetrating short fictions make for extraordinary and essential reading.