Swedish author Pär Lagerkvist won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1951, thanks in part to this funny, perverse, and remarkable masterpiece, originally published in 1944. The dwarf catapulted Lagerkvist to international fame, but the book is now largely overshadowed by (ahem) his most famous novel, Barabbas. Still, this biting little gem deserves a place on the shelf of discerning readers, alongside a literature as dark, haunting, and unforgettable as Crime and Punishment Y Subsoil Notes.

The dwarf tells the twisted story of Piccoline, an evil dwarf serving a corrupt court during the Italian wars of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. While the characters are fictional, they are nevertheless familiar. The prince was likely inspired by the real-life Renaissance prince and warlord Cesare Borgia, who figures prominently in the work of Niccolo Machiavelli. Prince. Machiavelli based much of his theory of power politics on Cesare Borgia, and would have loved The dwarf.

In crisp prose, Lagerkvist tells us, via Piccoline’s diary entries, of an Italian Renaissance city-state (think Milan or Florence) under a long and brutal siege. War, plague, and famine bring out the worst in one of literature’s most evil protagonists, a creepy misanthrope who loves both violence and destruction. Due to his small stature, Piccoline believes that he is not human at all, but of another race. This allows him to coldly assassinate his prince’s enemies as well as a personal enemy. The only emotions he knows are hatred, malice, and a thirst for revenge. He is a fascinating, funny, and obnoxious bastard. Readers of George RR Martin’s popular fantasy series A song of ice and fire you may recognize Piccoline as the literary ancestor of the dwarf anti-hero Tyrion Lannister.

Lovers of Italian Renaissance history will get much out of this wonderfully sordid tale. The details of the period are rich and authentic, if loosely fictitious. The prince of the novel is part Cesare Borgia, part Ludovico Sforza. These two historical Italian princes employed the artist Leonardo da Vinci as a war engineer, and Leonardo is memorably depicted in The dwarf of the artist Master Bernardo, who is fascinated (as Leonardo was) with the grotesques, and asks the hideous dwarf to model for a sketch.

One interesting possibility is that the dwarf doesn’t exist at all. The character could be read as the dark side of the prince himself, who in this interpretation would be a Jekyll and Hyde character who disassociates himself from his worst thoughts and actions by becoming the dwarf. The author drops several hints that this may be the correct interpretation.

The dwarf it’s a quick read. The prose is clean, the action sharp, the details fascinating. There is a lot of black humor here, based on the recognition of our worst impulses. Piccoline never redeems himself, remaining amoral and unapologetic to the end. I recommend this novel for pure entertainment and as a philosophical exploration of the evil nature in all of us.