First published 1989
Cincinnatus C. sits in a bizarre prison cell, awaiting execution for an undefined crime of "gnostical turpitude." His world is a surreal landscape where reality bends and shifts, populated by grotesque jailers, nonsensical legal proceedings, and increasingly strange characters who interrupt his isolation. As his execution date approaches, Cincinnatus begins to understand that his true prison might be more psychological than physical. He struggles to maintain his sense of self while the absurd machinery of his punishment churns around him, seeking to erase his individual consciousness. With each passing moment, the line between reality and imagination blurs, challenging everything he understands about his existence.
Genres: dystopia, literary-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, surreal, thought-provoking
Tropes: psychological-horror, unreliable-narrator
Setting: United States
Period: 20th-Century
223 pages · Paperback · Vintage