When Wim and Marie, a young Dutch couple, agree to hide a Jewish man in their home during the Nazi occupation, they think they are fulfilling their patriotic duty. Tension and awkwardness reign in the house as they try to adapt to this forbidden guest, whom they know as Nico. Small accidents and unexpected encounters ensue as the dynamic unsettles all three - until Nico dies, and Wim and Marie must face the risky endeavour of disposing of his body. Taut, penetrating and rich with dark irony, Comedy in a Minor Key is a masterful study of human relationships under extreme circumstances.

A penetrating study of ordinary people resisting the Nazi occupation--and, true to its title, a dark comedy of wartime manners--"Comedy in a Minor Key "tells the story of Wim and Marie, a Dutch couple who first hide a Jew they know as Nico, then must dispose of his body when he dies of pneumonia. This novella, first published in 1947 and now translated into English for the first time, shows Hans Keilson at his best: deeply ironic, penetrating, sympathetic, and brilliantly modern, an heir to Joseph Roth and Franz Kafka. In 2008, when Keilson received Germany's prestigious Welt Literature Prize, the citation praised his work for exploring "the destructive impulse at work in the twentieth century, down to its deepest psychological and spiritual ramifications."
Published to celebrate Keilson's hundredth birthday, "Comedy in""a Minor Key"--and "The Death of the Adversary," reissued in paperback--will introduce American readers to a forgotten classic author, a witness to World War II and a sophisticated storyteller whose books remain as fresh as when they first came to light.

Published when the author was just twenty-three, "Life Goes On" was Hans Keilson's literary debut, an extraordinary autobiographical""novel that paints a dark yet illuminating portrait of Germany""between the world wars. It is the story of Herr Seldersen--a Jewish store""owner modeled on Keilson's father, a textile merchant and decorated World""War I veteran--along with his wife and son, Albrecht, and the troubles they""encounter as the German economy collapses and politics turn rancid.""

The book was banned by the Nazis in 1934. Shortly afterward, following""his editor's advice, Keilson emigrated to the Netherlands, where he would""spend the rest of his life.""

"Life Goes On "is an essential volume for readers of Keilson's later work.""At the age of one hundred, with his one copy of the first edition of "Life Goes On "in hand, Keilson told "The New York Times "that he would love to see his""first novel reissued, and translated as well. "Then you would have my whole""biography," he told them. He died at the age of one hundred and one.""

Written while Hans Keilson was in hiding during World War II and first published in 1959, "The Death of the Adversary "is the self-portrait of a young man helplessly fascinated--obsessed--by an unnamed "adversary," whom he watches rise to power in 1930s Germany. It is a tale of horror, not only in its evocation of Hitler's gathering menace but in its hero's desperate attempt to discover logic where none exists. A psychological fable as haunting as "Badenheim 1939," "The Death of the Adversary "is a lost classic of modern fiction.