Franz Polzer is a man who is dominated by irrational fears; even a friendly smile seems to conceal a hidden menace. He keeps the world at bay by organising his life according to the meticulous routine of his work as a bank clerk. He even rejects promotion because it brings the unknown that will threaten to upset his ordered existence. But this precarious order is disturbed by the sexual demands of his landlady. Once the first breach has occurred, he is dragged inexorably down into an abyss of degradation which ends in a grisly murder. The horror of Polzer's fall is emphasised by the matter-of-fact sobriety of Ungar's narrative style.

MAIMED

MITCHELL, MIKE

Ungar, Hermann

Arts & Photography

Dedalus Limited

Josef Blau is a high school teacher who comes from a poor background, poorer than that of most of his pupils. The insecurity this causes him leads to an obsession with order and discipline. He senses his pupils watching him, waiting for the slightest weakness; the least infringement, he feels, will lead to the complete collapse of this tightly ordered world. The other focus of his obsession is his attractive wife. Despite al the evidence and her assurances, he cannot believe she will be faithful to him. He forces her to shave her hair and wear clothes that are no more than shapeless sacks, yet still cannot conquer his fears. Catastrophe is looming and, once the first breach is made inevitable. 'We are all schoolchildren, ' Blau says, 'in one great class...

The Class (Dedalus European Classics)

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

Die Klasse: Roman

Manesse-Verlag

Called by Thomas Mann a "sexual hell" as well as "pure artistry," The Maimed is set in Prague and relates the story of a highly neurotic, socially inept bank clerk who is eventually forced to have sexual relations with his widowed landlady. At the same time he must witness the steady physical and mental deterioration of his lifelong friend who is suffering from an unnamed disease. Part psychological farce, Ungar tells a dark, ironic tale of chaos overtaking one's meticulously ordered life. Having died young, Ungar wrote only two novels, in addition to a handful of plays and short stories; this is the first time his work has appeared in English.

The Maimed

Literary

Twisted Spoon Press

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