Selected prose of Heinrich von Kleist

In this extraordinary and unpredictable cross-section of the work of one of the most influential free spirits of German letters, Peter Wortsman captures the breathlessness and power of Heinrich von Kleist’s transcendent prose. These tales, essays, and fragments move across inner landscapes, exploring the shaky bridges between reason and feeling and the frontiers between the human psyche and the divine. From the "The Earthquake in Chile," his damning invective against moral tyranny; to "Michael Kohlhaas," an exploration of the extreme price of justice; to "The Marquise of O . . . ," his twist on the mythic triumph of love story; to his essay "On the Gradual Formulation of Thoughts While Speaking," which tracks the movements of the unconscious decades before Freud; Kleist unrelentingly confronts the dangers of self-deception and the ultimate impossibility of existence ina world of absolutes. Wortsman’s illuminating afterword demystifies Kleist’s vexed history, explaining how the century after his death saw Kleist’s legacy transformed from that of a largely derided playwright into a literary giant who would inspire Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka. The concerns of Heinrich von Kleist are timeless. The mysteries in his fiction and visionary essays still breathe. -- ‡c From publisher's description

Searing searching tales of moral crises and faith. Kleist is a sculptor of delirium.

Publishers Weekly

Compiled and translated by Peter Wortsman, this collection of short stories, novellas and literary fragments by German writer Heinrich von Kleist (1777–1811) is impressive not only for its content but for its relevance centuries later. In “The Earthquake in Chile,” Jeronimo Rugera is jailed for impregnating his student, Donna Josephe, and is contemplating suicide on the day of her arranged beheading when an earthquake thunders through the city and frees him. Rugera, wandering through the rubble-torn streets, is astonished to find that both his love and their baby have miraculously been spared, but the bloodthirsty nature of the surviving townspeople has not abated. Based on a true event, “The Marquise of O” centers on an Italian widow courted by Count F., who asks for her hand in marriage. Meanwhile, she notices her body transforming and when the surprise pregnancy is confirmed, her family banishes her in disgrace, and she seizes upon the plan of advertising in the newspaper for the father to step forward and prove her innocence. A dark, charming collection of twisted fairy tales for grownups. (Jan.)

Kleists narrative language is something completely unique. It is not enough to read it as historicaleven in his day nobody wrote as he did...An impetus squeezed out with iron, absolutely un-lyrical detachment brings forth tangled, knotted, overloaded sentences painfully soldered together...and driven by a breathless tempo. Thomas Mann Peter Wortsman captures the breathlessness and power of Heinrich von Kleists transcendent prose. These moral tales move across inner landscapes, exploring the bridges between reason and feeling and the frontiers between the human psyche and the divine. The concerns of Heinrich von Kleist are timeless. The mysteries in his fiction and visionary essays still breathe. This amazing collection of Kleist's short fiction, novellas, essays and fragments gives readers an extraordinary and penetrating overview of the life and work of one of the most influential and unusual writers in the history of German literature. From 'The Earthquake in Chile', a damning invective against moral tyranny, to 'Michael Kohlhaas', an exploration of the violent price of justice, Kleist unrelentingly confronts the dangers of self-deception and the ultimate impossibility of existence in a world bound by absolutes. Content: Fragments -- Earthquake in Chile -- Betrothal in Santo Domingo --- Saint Cecila, or the power of Locarno -- Marquise of O -- Michael Kohlhaas -- On the gradual formulation of thoughts while speaking -- On the theater of Marionettes.