The Confessions of Josef Baisz Author:Dan Jacobson From Dan Jacobson, a living master of the English novel, comes this brilliant exploration of the life of an ambitious minor functionary in an imagined police state, who, through exploitation and sheer luck ultimately achieves political prominence -- only to lose his soul. — Josef Baisz, the candidly treacherous narrator of these "confessions... more »," is bound to take his place among those unforgettable literary creations whose moral lapses and failures have helped to illuminate the contemporary world for recent generations of readers.
Born int eh Republic of Sarmeda, the son of a family fallen on hard times, Baisz travels upward through the various levels of power in Sarmedan society, teaching himself the art of servitude and exploring the hierarchies of ruthlessness. Finally he comes face to face with the last, and the most central, object of his treachery -- himself.« less