"A balloonist finds himself set upon by erotic lepers ... a passenger on a ship notices a human eye on the deck ... a group of aristocrats enjoys a vegetarian dish made from human flesh ... a virginal young girl gnaws raw meat from a bone ... a notorious ruffian is terrorized by a rat. Welcome to the bizarre universe of Witold Gombrowicz, whose legendary short story collection is presented here for the first time in English. These tales are utterly unique in world literature."--BOOK JACKET.