Pointed gloss, elegant essay, culturally critical polemic, self-ironic narrative: Karl-Markus Gauss, one of the greatest stylists of contemporary literature, masters many forms and tones. The everyday world is the unknown terrain he has been exploring literarily for thirty years, with sharp insight, erudition, and wit. In this first collection of his short prose, he writes about the simple and confusing aspects of life, the promises of progress and his own prejudices, world-famous media figures and forgotten writers. Whatever he writes about—be it the militarization of sexuality, the abolition of embarrassment, or mother tongues as the foundation of self-awareness, imagination, and revolt—he always impresses with the originality of his thoughts and the elegance of his language. His texts appear as if crafted with a light touch.