Z213: EXIT (Second Edition)

It’s tempting to read the entire ‘Poena Damni’ trilogy as a response to the unremitting horrors of the 20th-century, and it’s hard to avoid associating the camp, the soldiers, and the guard towers with the disturbing Second World War images that should now be part of the collective subconscious. But Lyacos’ insertion of Biblical and mythical motifs suggests a far broader project, covering all human history. ‘Z213: Exit’ can be read as the first volume of a postmodern epic.