Despite being a work of fiction, the novel is deeply, painfully autobiographical. It tells the story of a young boy, Andreas Sam (a clear stand-in for Kiš himself), and his eccentric, messianic father, Eduard Sam. Eduard is a failed poet, a railway clerk, a dreamer obsessed with dictionaries, philosophy, and the transmutation of reality into words.
Prompt 2: “Discuss Kiš’s use of metafictional techniques to interrogate historical truth; how successful is he in balancing artistic invention with ethical responsibility?” danilo kis basta pepeo pdf