The Encyclopedia of the Dead (European Classics)

Rating:
Summary: wonderful, intriguing, challenging, disturbing
Review: I highly recommend all of Danilo Kis's works.

Rating:
Summary: In the Shadow of Death
Review: The nine stories contained in this book are truly extraordinary in every way. As I was reading them, I was struck by how much Kis's style resembles that of Borges: Both authors were cerebral yet playful; both wrote thematically-based stories; both were obsessed with the fantastic.

All of the stories in THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE DEAD are well-written, thoroughly engrossing, complex and extremely thought-provoking. All are woven around the theme of death and while this may seem to make them very depressing they are anything but.

I think it's probably better for most people to read these stories one at a time, giving each one plenty of thought and consideration, but the stories are just so good and so enticing that I often read two or three at a sitting and then found myself rereading them individually later on, giving them more time to "digest."

If you like stories centered around a fast-paced plot or a fascinating character, these stories might not be the ones you should choose. If, however, you find the exploration of life and "life after life" fascinating, then these are definitely stories you'll enjoy. The themes they explore are universal; the stories could really take place anywhere, at any time. I think these stories are stories that any reflective person could relate to and, because of this, they have a luminous, timeless quality about them that I just loved.

I think it's wonderful that more and more literature from Eastern Europe is being translated into English. THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE DEAD is one of the finest collections of short stories I've ever read. I'd recomment it highly to anyone who loves good literature.

Rating:
Summary: BAROQUE REALISM
Review: _The Encyclopedia of the Dead_ is one of the best short story collections of this or any century, I'm not shy to say, and it is my personal favorite of Kis' books (_A Tomb for Boris Davidovich [forthcoming from Dalkey Archive] coming in a close second). Kis' writes in a wonderful type of lyrical documentary style, mixing fact and fiction (though it is difficult to tell sometimes whether the fact is not fiction and vice-versa), reminiscent of some of the contemporary younger western writers (namely, William T. Vollmann, who himself is a big fan). In short, buy this book! (If you don't have a penny to your name and you can't buy one...you should not steal it, thought you would have it and be able to read and devour it like you need to.)