Schopenhauer's Telescope (Used)

Gerard Donovan's debut novel is set in an unnamed European village during a civil war: two men stand on either side of a freshly dug grave, but only one is digging. As snow falls through the afternoon and villagers are held in a nearby field, their conversation gradually reveals what brought them to this moment, ranging across history and philosophy to probe civilization's capacity for mass violence. Described as "a history-infused philosophical tale of stoicism, death and inhumanity," it was longlisted for the 2003 Booker Prize.