The Dwarf

Lagerkvist's dwarf is not human, or rather he is but does not see himself as such. He stands apart, serving at the court of an Italian prince, dispensing bilious, cynical commentary on war, human nature, and love. He says: "I have noticed that sometimes I frighten people; what they really fear is themselves. They think it is I who scare them, but it is the dwarf within them, the ape-faced manlike being who sticks up his head from the depths of their souls." An uncomfortable, piercing book.