Desire and Delusion: Three Novellas

Dying, Flight into Darkness, and Fraulein Else reveal the depths of Schnitzler's psychological and moral understanding of life as well as the masterful storytelling techniques that immerse the reader into the very center of his characters' thoughts and emotions. The tales of Arthur Schnitzler—especially as rendered in Margret Schaefer's clear, uncluttered translations—are many suggestive, allusive, and dreamlike things. But they are most certainly not the work of a period writer. —Chris Lehmann, Washington Post Book World