The Black Obelisk

In a small German town in 1923, in the grip of runaway inflation, Ludwig Bodmer works as a salesman for a firm that makes gravestones. A veteran of the First World War, he lives among eccentric friends and sees how money loses meaning almost daily. Mixing dark comedy with sharp social observation, the novel follows his work, his drinking evenings, his love affairs and visits to an asylum where a woman with a divided mind captures his attention. It portrays a society drifting toward trouble while its people try to enjoy what life they can.