The Encyclopedia of the Dead - Danilo Kis

The Encyclopedia of the Dead by Danilo Kiš, translated by Michael Henry Heim / ISBN 9780141396989 / 167-page paperback from Penguin *** An entrancing, otherworldly collection of short stories from one of Europe's most accomplished 20th century writers, new to Penguin Modern Classics A counter-prophet attempts the impossible to prove his power; a girl sees the hideous fate of her sisters and father in a mirror bought from a gypsy; the death of a prostitute causes an unanticipated uprising; and the lives of every ordinary person since 1789 are recreated in the almighty Encyclopedia of the Dead. These stories about love and death, truth and lies, myth and reality range across many epochs and settings. Brilliantly combining fact and fiction, epic and miniature, horror and comedy, this was Danilo Kiš final work, published in Serbo-Croatian in 1983. "Kiš is one of the great European writers of the post-war period" - Guardian "Compulsively readable" - Daily Telegraph "Fantasy chases reality a