"The Clay Machine-gun" is a surreal and complex novel that explores the nature of reality and illusion. The story is set in post-Soviet Russia and follows a protagonist who has multiple identities, including a poet in 19th-century Russia, a 20th-century psychiatric patient, and a 21st-century advertising executive. The narrative moves between these identities and realities, blurring the lines between them and creating a layered and philosophical exploration of Russian society, identity, and the human psyche.

The novel is a dystopian narrative set in a future where a new Asian empire has conquered Europe. The story follows a young Polish man who, while initially indulging in hedonistic pursuits, becomes increasingly disillusioned with the world around him. As the new empire introduces a mysterious substance known as Murti-Bing pills, which create a sense of contentment and indifference in the populace, the protagonist grapples with the loss of individuality and the erosion of human spirit in society. The narrative is a critique of totalitarian regimes and the dangers of mass conformity.

This novel tells the story of a schoolteacher and amateur entomologist who travels to a remote seaside village to collect insects. He is tricked into staying the night in a house at the bottom of a sand pit with a mysterious woman, who spends her days shoveling back the ever-encroaching sand. As the days pass, the man realizes he has been trapped and is forced to help the woman with her endless task, leading to a strange and consuming relationship filled with existential dread and fascination.

"Selected Works" by Alfred Jarry is a compilation of the most significant writings from a French author known for his pioneering work in the Absurdist and Surrealist movements. The collection showcases a range of Jarry's literary output, including plays, essays, and novels, with his most famous character, Père Ubu, often taking center stage. Jarry's work is characterized by its satirical edge, inventive language, and the subversion of traditional literary forms. His influence extends beyond literature into the realms of theatre and the visual arts, where his ideas have continued to resonate with avant-garde movements throughout the 20th century and beyond.

The play revolves around the bizarre situation of a couple living with the growing corpse of the husband's friend, Amédée, in their apartment. As the body inexplicably continues to expand, it causes increasing inconvenience and absurdity in their lives. The husband, a failed playwright, and his wife struggle with their mundane existence, their inability to dispose of the corpse, and the surreal events that unfold. The narrative explores themes of stagnation, guilt, and the absurdity of life, as the couple's surreal predicament serves as a metaphor for the inescapable, often grotesque, complexities of the human condition.

"Selected Writings" is a compilation of texts from a seminal figure in the avant-garde theater and literary world, known for his radical ideas on the performance arts and the role of the artist in society. This collection showcases the author's diverse literary output, including manifestos, plays, letters, and essays that delve into his Theatre of Cruelty concept, which sought to disrupt the complacency of the audience and challenge the boundaries of conventional theatre. The writings reflect his tumultuous life, marked by mental illness and profound philosophical inquiry, and his influential thoughts on the interplay between reality and illusion, the body and the psyche, and the potential of art to reveal the deepest truths of the human condition.