Come Back, Dr. Caligari

    experimentationwiththeabsurd,bothinthemeandtechnique,isbynomeansatotallynewdevelopmentinliterature,especiallyforthosereadersfamiliarwiththeworksofcamus,kafka,beckett,genêt,androbbe-grillet.likethesewriters,mr.barthelmesatirizesandmimicsmostoftheclichésofourpopularculture,and,throughthepredicamentsofhischaracters,makesthereaderaskwhy?yetthesepredicaments,althoughbizarre,inane,andusuallysurrealistic,donotnecessarilycontainthemoroseconnotationsofmostwritersoftheabsurd.forexample,inonetalethenarratoristhirty-fiveyearsold,sixfeettall,withthelogicandreasoningofanadult.heisinthesixthgrade,wheremissmandible,histeacher,isfrustratedinherdesirestohaveanaffairwithhimbecause,officially,heisachild!theseimaginativestoriesofdarkhumor,someofwhichhaveappearedinthenewyorker,aretobeinterpretedonmanylevels,andofferrefreshingandthoroughlyexcitingreading.