内容简介
Firstpublishedin1931andnowappearingforthefirsttimeinEnglish,GeorgLetham:PhysicianandMurdererisadisquietinganatomyofadeviantmindinthetraditionofCrimeandPunishment.Letham,thetreacherouslyunreliablenarrator,isadepravedbacteriologistwhosemurderofhiswifeis,characteristically,bothinstinctualandpremeditated.Convictedandexiled,heattemptstoatoneforhiscrimesthroughscience,conceivingofthebookwearereadingasanempiricalreportonhimself—whoseultimatepurposemaybetosubstituteforaconscience.YetLethamcanneitherunderstandnormasterhimself.Hiscrimesarecrimesofpassion,andhispassionsremainmoreorlessuntouchedbyhisreason—infacttheyareconstantlyintrudingonhis"report,"rigorousasitisintendedtobe.Bothfeverishandchilling,GeorgLethamexploresthelimitsofreasonandthetensionsbetweenobjectivityandsubjectivity.MovingfromanunnamedCentralEuropeancitytoarcticicefloestoatropicalislandprison,thislayerednovel—withitsoftengrotesquelycomictoneandarrestingimages—invitesusintothedarkestchambersofthehumanpsyche.
作者简介
ErnstWeiss,bornin1882inBru?nn,MoraviaintheAustro-HungarianEmpire,wasatrainedphysician.Hisyearsasaship’sdoctorareapparentinmuchofthedetailinGeorgLetham.Weiss’workemergesfromanexpressionistbackgroundbutbelongswiththemodernistclassics.JoelRotenbergtranslatedChessStoryandThePost-OfficeGirlbyStefanZweigandHugovonHofmannsthal’sTheLordChandosLetterfortheNewYorkReviewBooksClassicsseries.,,,