Atlas of an Anxious Man

“Whatever the future may hold—and this is a book ruled by the past tense—it will emerge from the beautiful wreckage Ransmayr describes in these seventy tales: a world of ruins, haunted by failure and littered with the bodies of the dead, human and animal alike. Several of the vignettes evoke writing on a wall. We have no reason for arrogance, the author suggests, and little cause for hope. . . . Pare’s translation is lithe and assured. . . . Ransmayr casts a magisterial eye over a suffering world: the atlas he compiles is one in which awe at the splendour of the planet is tempered by sorrow at what has become of it.” * Times Literary Supplement *
“Atlas of an Anxious Man is a record of the extraordinary things that can happen to a person if he steps out into the world with his eyes and mind open. It is an evocative and haunting book, a masterpiece of multiple genres by a writer unlike any other. Ransmayr is one of Austria’s most accomplished novelists, but his work is relatively unknown outside of Europe. With this excellent translation by Pare, there is hope that Ransmayr will start to receive the attention he deserves.” * Northwest Review of Books *
 “Atlas of an Anxious Man is far from your usual travel-account, but it's an impressive collection of scenes of the contemporary world -- the almost-asides of the often everyday, which are in fact often quite extraordinary. Recommended.” * Complete Review *