The Unruly Bridal Bed and Other Grotesques

by Mynona, Salomo Friedlaender, W.C. Bamberger (Translator)

Originally published in 1921, The Unruly Bridal Bed brings together ten indefinable tales that include -Tobias and the Prune, - -Plant Paternity, - -The Dissolute Nose, - -Fried Sphinx Meat- and -The Great Gold-Plated Flea.- Under his literary pseudonym Mynona (a palindrome for the German -Anonym, - or -Anonymous-), Salomo Friedlaender here displays his unique brand of philosophical slapstick that blends fairytale technology with proto-metafiction and at times unsettling meditations on fornicating plants, aristocratic eugenics, spiritual and physical hermaphroditism, and our excremental sun. With its companion volume of grotesques, My Papa and the Maid of Orleans, this collection offers a perfect introduction to the great German humorist's work.

Genres: Short Stories, Germany

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1921

About the author

pseud. for Salomo Friedlaender

Reviews

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 3 out of 5]

These short surreal tales from the founder of “Creative Indifference”, a philosophical standpoint residing at the centre of polar opposites—sort of a vantage point from which to watch and satirise life’s absurd collisions and tensions—are amusing creations steeped in their cultural and political epochs (1910s Germany), and as such the humour often fails to translate (German humour from the 1910s not being something most people would find a knee-slapping hoot, full kudos is awarded to the translator W.C. Bamberger—a Steve Katz and Beefheart scholar—for a terrific attempt). The stories are at their most charming when prancing around the parameters of taste, as in ‘The Boring Wedding Night’ or ‘The Unruly Bridal Bed’, and one suspects if born in a later era, Mynona might have shared a bed with the raunchier postmodernists.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Make that 4.5 stars for this brief collection of German Absurdist tales which can read like Poe and Lovecraft meet Laurel and Hardy.

[Dave Rush · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Mynona’s works we find ourselves deep in the realm of the absurd. The irony, or arguably, the sad reality, is what should be deemed mythic, fantastic, gothic, or surreal, is an all to realistic vision for many of the contemporaries of his time. Using mythology and the deep rooted Germanic tradition of romanticism, this author drives into the consciousness of his time. With wit, and honesty, he showcases the all to real ideologies of eugenics and greed as being not only madness but an unnatural approach to the order set forth in basic life as deemed by the creator. Funnier than Kafka, this satirist is the union of Gogol and Voltaire. If his other works are as brilliant as this small collection of short stories, it is my sincere hope more translations can be made for English readers!

[Ed Erwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absurd and whimsical short stories that feel a bit like Poe or ETA Hoffman. Beneath the surface-level these are often dealing with philosophical concepts, and for that reason I'd also compare this to Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky.

[Dylan Rock · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine collection of satirical and grotesque stories that are equal parts Saki, Swift, Poe, and Hoffman

[Lance Grabmiller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Darkly humorous and mischievous little tales.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I prefer the stories in the other collection. I kind of struggled to finish this one, seemed more philosophical than the first? Maybe my heart just wasn’t in it? Idk I still live this author though

[HV_bookwyrm · Rating 3 out of 5]

"But how all apparently dead illusions immediately reawaken when someone, as you just have, beckons us with the specter of a fulfillment."

The short stories that make up this slim volume are all very absurdist. If that's not something you enjoy, you really REALLY won't like this. The stories are clever and unique. They're also quite short, as some of them are only one and a half pages long (and these are small/short pages). Although short, they are impactful and very clearly reveal Mynona's philosophical leanings, even though on the surface some of the plots are quite ridiculous.