Showing titles in Absurdist

Orphaned as a boy, raised in the Czech countryside by his doting grandparents, Jakub Procházka has risen from small-time scientist to become the country's first astronaut. When a dangerous solo mission to Venus offers him both the chance at heroism he's dreamt of, and a way to atone for his father's sins as a Communist informer, he ventures boldly into the vast unknown.

On the outskirts of Buenos Aires in 1907, Doctor Quintana pines for head nurse Menéndez while he and his colleagues embark on a grisly series of experiments to investigate the line between life and death. One hundred years later, a celebrated artist goes to extremes in search of aesthetic transformation, turning himself into an art object. How far are we willing to go, Larraquy asks, in pursuit of transcendence?

This ingenious novel is presented as a chronicle of an island from medieval to modern times. The island is not on the map, but it is real beyond doubt. It cannot be found in history books, yet the events are painfully recognizable. The monastic chroniclers dutifully narrate events they witness. The entries mostly seem objective, but at least one monk simultaneously drafts and hides a "true" history, to be discovered centuries later. And why has someone snipped out a key prophesy about the island's fate?

A gritty, darkly satirical short story about power, persuasion, and the peril of turning a blind eye to uncomfortable truths. Set aboard a seemingly ordinary tour bus, this story unpacks how truth can be twisted, trust can be bought with promises, and entire groups can be led astray, not through force, but through flattery, fear, and the seductive comfort of belonging. What begins as a frustrating travel delay quickly spirals into a chilling lesson in manipulation. A charismatic stranger promises salvation, but delivers only chaos, division, and delusion. Some passengers resist. Most stay ...

"If Orwell and Huxley had a love child, it would look like 2060—and it wouldn’t love you back." “In a world where freedom is quietly rewritten, books like 'The Mind of Gods' won’t be on the shelves forever.” In the year 2060, death is outlawed. Surveillance is absolute. Life is mandatory. Markus Blackshaw has never left his apartment. Every moment of his existence is tracked by Milli, the artificial intelligence that governs the Global Protectorate. Nothing is left to chance. Not your sleep. Not your thoughts. Not your death. But then Elwood appears—a man who doesn’t belong. ...

One wild night to celebrate landing my dream job. I never imagined my new client would be the commanding alpha billionaire who'd left marks on my neck just hours before. One night. Pure fire. Forever changed. I meet a stranger at a bar - older, commanding. His experienced touch ignites me, his masterful kisses consume me. By morning, I'm ruined for any other man. Twenty-four hours later, I'm frozen in a boardroom doorway. There he sits - Dante Romano, billionaire and my new client. My unforgettable one-night stand. He's not just a billionaire. He's the city's most powerful mafia boss. As ...

Etgar Keret is the world’s most famous living Israeli writer, known for writing short stories that are lean and accessible in style, and whimsical, surrealist, and darkly funny in subject. His work explores life’s smallest, most unremarkable interactions in ways that are profound and unusual. The characters populating his fiction have relatable work and relationship problems.

Can fiction shape reality—or is it the other way around? Howard Protheroe’s life is thrown into disarray when he meets the unpredictable Evie Nickelbite. At round about the same time, would-be writer George W. Durant buys an antique Remington typewriter that seems to have a will of its own. As Howard and Evie’s lives become increasingly action-packed and fraught with danger, they start to feel like characters in a badly written novel. What is going on, and what does it have to do with George’s Remington? By turns surreal, funny and romantic, The Typewriter navigates the mysterious ...

It’s as if her life only began once Moon appeared in it. The desultory copywriting work, the boyfriend, and the want of anything not-Moon quickly fall away when she beholds the idol in concert, where Moon dances as if his movements are creating their own gravitational field; on live streams, as fans from around the world comment in dozens of languages; even on skincare products endorsed by the wildly popular Korean boy band, of which Moon is the youngest, most luminous member. Seized by ineffable desire, our unnamed narrator begins writing Y/N fanfic.

After a domestic terrorist unleashes a dirty bomb in Manhattan in 1970, making the borough uninhabitable, FBI Agent Uli Sarkisian finds himself in a world that is suddenly unrecognizable, as the United States faces its greatest immigration crisis ever: finding housing for millions of its own citizens. The federal government hastily retrofits an abandoned government installation in the Nevada desert. Despite the government's best intentions, as the military pulls out of "Rescue City", the residents are increasingly left to their own devices, and tribal gang warfare fuses with democracy.

Peter Knox lives quietly in one of those small country villages that's up for the Village Garden of the Year award. Until Doc and Constance Rabbit move in next door, upsetting the locals (many of them members of governing political party United Kingdom Against Rabbit Population), complicating Peter's job as a Rabbit Spotter, and forcing him to take a stand, moving from unconscious leporiphobe to active supporter of the UK's amiable and peaceful population of anthropomorphised rabbits.

The Late Mattia Pascal (Italian: Il fu Mattia Pascal) is a 1904 novel by Luigi Pirandello. It is one of his best-known works and was his first major treatment of the theme of the mask. The protagonist, Mattia Pascal, finds that his promising youth has, through misfortune or misdeed, dissolved into a dreary dead-end job and a miserable marriage.

Jenlena and her best friend Daphne are two humanities grads in their early 20s, trying to find their way in a society that has just eradicated all animals for the safety of humanity. In the post-fauna world, Jenlena transforms from an aspiring poet to a gig worker, capitalizing on other people’s grief by selling house plants that have come to replace pets and cosplaying as dogs for pay. Meanwhile Daphne, a once-promising student, flounders in a deep depression, smoking weed and ditching work to hang out with her once famous, now canceled boyfriend.

Il più celebre romanzo di Pirandello, scritto nel 1904, narra la storia del bibliotecario Mattia Pascal, il quale, da ricco proprietario terriero, dopo una vita di sprechi e scioperataggine, si ritrova ridotto in miseria, a causa delle ruberie perpetrate dall'amministratore dei suoi terreni.Un vortice di disgraziate vicissitudini travolge la sua vita, quando infine, alla morte delle due figliolette, in preda alla disperazione, fugge da Miragno e, per puro caso si ritrova nel Casino di Montecarlo, dove vince una considerevole somma alla roulette.

When Tony Hardstaff breaks the bank playing ‘Snap!’ at the St Petersburg Casino, he is swept up in a maelstrom of romance and adventure. Seduced by the sultry Natassia Fillipovna Karamazov – a woman with curves so perfect they could make a geometry professor spontaneously combust – Tony is caught in flagrante by the Russian mafia, and flees for his life.

Fourteen years after her last adventure, Thursday Next, literary detective, finds herself in an unusual situation her job policing the fictional characters of the BookWorld has been downgraded since her previous escapades are now themselves in print. However, a pressing threat may call her back into action: first Sherlock Holmes and then Miss Marple are found dead, stopping their series in their tracks.

The ultimatum is in - Marry or lose it all…. I am up for the challenge - Let the search for a fake fiancée begin. Years of dedication have gone into building my multi-billion-dollar company. My life is a balance of hard work and indulgence, earning the reputation of a CEO playboy after enduring past heartbreaks. Now the Investors want me to settle down. In a desperate attempt to save my empire, I persuade my assistant to be my fake fiancée. Little did I anticipate the sparks that flew between us would ignite a fire I couldn't control. Then comes the twist—the ultimate game-changer: a ...

A mysterious object has appeared out in the snow. Gibbs and Cline are mesmerized. They can’t discern its exact shape and color, nor if it’s moving or fixed in place. But it is there. Isn’t it? Whatever it might be, Hart thinks the thing in the snow is an unwelcome distraction, and probably a huge waste of time. Though, come to think of it, time itself has been a bit wonky lately. Weekends pass in a blur, and he can hardly tell day from night. Gravity seems less-than-reliable. The lights have been flickering weirdly, and he feels an odd thrumming sensation in his beard.

Welcome to the Murder House. We investigate a Mystery House, one floor at a time. We start at the top. And work our way down through the Life-cycle of the insane house, picking up the jigsaw pieces to work out the deep mystery held within. And the Omega Circle group of friends are back. But terrible things are happening inside. All kinds of body horror and monsters and weird shit. Incredible things in deep bizarro surrealism.

My dad's best friend is my boss with benefits… It’s been 10 years since I saw my childhood crush- my dad’s best friend, Todd Anderson. He’s always grabbed my attention with his broad chest and alpha-hole personality. Now it seems I’m not the only one with a crush… A few too many cocktails at my dad‘s wedding, and he’s in my bed with nothing but the sheets on us. We both know this cannot continue. He's nearly twice my age and Daddy would never forgive us. It gets complicated when my dad gets me a job at Todd’s company. Now temptation’s growing stronger with our desks 10 ...