Fiction. Translation. Hermann Ungar (1893-1929) was born to a prominent Jewish family in Boskovice, Moravia and studied in Berlin and Prague where he later lived. THE MAIMED is a novel set in Prague that relates the story of a neurotic, socially inept bank clerk who is eventually forced to have sexual relations with his widowed landlady. He must also witness the physical and mental deterioration of a friend who is suffering from an unnamed disease. Part psychological farce, THE MAIMED is a dark, ironic tale of chaos overtaking one's meticulously ordered life. This is the first time Hermann Ungar's work has appeared in English. In his time, Ungar was praised by Thomas Mann who commented about THE MAIMED ."a sexual hell, full of filth, crime and the deepest melancholy--a monomaniacal digression of an inwardly pure artistry...." Translated from the German by Kevin Blahut. Illustrated by Pavel Rut.

Contemplation, Kafka's first published book (1913), was one of the few to appear in his lifetime. Composed of eighteen short prose poems, the book as a whole displays the full range of Kafka's compact metaphorical style. In this new translation, Blahut has been faithful to the original German while rendering it in a fresh, contemporary English. This edition is complimented by eighteen black & white illustrations, attesting to the lasting inspiration of Kafka's prose. The three volumes Twisted Spoon has published Contemplation, A Country Doctor, and A Hunger Artist represent the collections of stories that Kafka had published during his lifetime. Though each volume has its own distinctive character, they have most often appeared in English in collected editions. They are presented here in new translations, each with its own illustrator from the Prague community.