One day it is there. Standing at the end of a dead-end street in the middle of the city. It is a large child. Its gaze is humbly cast down, its skin is cracked. During the day, the residents of the city gather around this child, holding rallies and concerts. At night, they beat it with fists, sticks, and chains - on the sculpture made of soft, never-drying clay, on the "Mahlstädter Child." The artist has left it to them to complete, assigning them the task of bringing it "into the form of a child that is generally perceived as perfect." At first, the enthusiasm for art drives the residents of the city, then they come as pilgrims of their rage, losing control over themselves in their beating and nearly losing their minds as well. After the two critically acclaimed and award-winning novels "Sons and Planets" and "The Frequencies," the author...