{"product_id":"the-nightwatches-of-bonaventura-bonaventura-9780226141428","title":"The Nightwatches of Bonaventura","description":"First published in German in 1804, under the nom de plume \"Bonaventura,\" \u003ci\u003eThe \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eNightwatches of Bonaventura \u003c\/i\u003eis a dark, twisted, and comic novel, one part Poe and one part Beckett. The narrator and antihero is not Bonaventura but a night watchman named Kreuzgang, a failed poet, actor, and puppeteer who claims to be the spawn of the devil himself. As a night watchman, Kreuzgang takes voyeuristic pleasure in spying on the follies of his fellow citizens, and every night he makes his rounds and stops to peer into a window or door, where he observes framed scenes of murder, despair, theft, romance, and other private activities. In his reactions, Kreuzgang is cynical and pessimistic, yet not without humor. For him, life is a grotesque, macabre, and base joke played by a mechanical and heartless force. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Since its publication\u003ci\u003e, \u003c\/i\u003e fans have speculated on the novel's authorship, and it is now believed to be by theater director August Klingemann, who first staged Goethe's \u003ci\u003eFaust. \u003c\/i\u003eOrganized into sixteen separate nightwatches, the sordid scenes glimpsed through parted curtains, framed by door chinks, and lit by candles and shadows anticipate the cinematic. A cross between the gothic and the romantic, \u003ci\u003eThe Nightwatches of Bonaventura \u003c\/i\u003eis brilliant in its perverse intensity, presenting an inventory of human despair and disgust through the eyes of a bitter, sardonic watcher who draws laughter from tragedy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Translated by Gerald Gillespie, who supplies a fresh introduction, \u003ci\u003eThe Nightwatches of Bonaventura \u003c\/i\u003ewill be welcomed by a new generation of English-language fans eager to sample the night's dark offerings.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Bonaventura\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 022614142X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226141428\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/24\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 216\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.85lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.80h x 6.08w x 0.76d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/25\/2014 pg. 74","brand":"Bonaventura","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43913422176511,"sku":"9780226141428","price":52.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_6bc5ed38-9b2d-4987-a80c-59c1db6d7a0f.jpg?v=1680620322","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-nightwatches-of-bonaventura-bonaventura-9780226141428","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}