Books like Three stories and a reflection by Patrick Süskind

A collection of Borges’ short stories that frequently employ the labyrinth as a literary device, probing philosophical and everyday aspects of human life.

Publisher: New York, Grove Press [1965, ©1958] Description: 414 p. 18 cm. Series Title: An Evergreen black cat book, BC-78 Other Titles: Molloy. Malone dies. The unnamable.

Like The Silent Angel, which was published to critical acclaim in 1994, these stories deal primarily with Germany on the eve of war and with World War II itself. Living amidst a desiccated landscape devoid of traditional morality, the characters in The Mad Dog display an almost eerie stoicism as they struggle to piece together the fragments of their shattered lives. Each character, in his own way, manages to transcend the abysmal meaninglessness of his ruined life and to crawl painfully out of his existential hell. Thus, even in the darkest of scenarios, Boll conjures an affirmation that is inspirational in its power and beauty. Raw and chilling, these tales embody Boll's commitment to certain basic principles: the religious impulse toward meaning in the midst of human chaos; the hope love offers to those for whom all else seems lost; and the enduring possibility of an ethical core of action in a maelstrom of political and personal corruption.

"Nobodaddy's Children is a trilogy of novels that traces life in Germany from the Nazi era through the postwar years and into an apocalyptic future. Scenes from the Life of a Faun recounts the dreary life of a government worker who escapes the banality of war by researching the exploits of a deserter from the Napoleonic Wars nicknamed The Faun. Brand's Heath deals with the chaos of the immediate postwar period as a writer joins a small community of "survivors" to try to forge a new life, and Dark Mirrors is set in a future where civilization has been virtually destroyed. Dark Mirrors' narrator fears he may be the last man on earth until the discovery of another creates new fears. All three novels are characterized by Schmidt's unique combination of sharply observed details, sarcastic asides, and wide erudition."--BOOK JACKET.