Donald Barthelme (1931-1989) is an American writer, one of the pillars of literary postmodernism of the 20th century, a master of short prose. Author of 4 novels, about 20 collections of stories, essays, and parodies. Winner of a dozen prestigious literary awards, his novels are entire stages of American literature. “The Dead Father” (1975) is just such a legendary novel, about the journey of a vaguely defined entity, a symbol of fatherhood, which is dragged along ropes through the country of the Wends by some of his children, to a certain goal that becomes clear only at the very end. The fabric of the narrative is solid anecdotes, stories, dialogues and allegories, humor and verbal play. It is one of the most influential novels of American absurdity, a powerful metaphor for the relationships between parents and children, gods and men: here anything means a lot of things. The book will make happy those who like to fence symbolic gardens, and fans of intricate poisonous humor, and fans of Beckett, Ionesco, etc.