Leo Perutz
Zwischen neun und neun
"Zwischen neun und neun" by Leo Perutz is a novel published in 1918. Student Stanislaus Demba frantically races through Vienna with hidden handcuffs, desperately trying to raise 200 crowns before evening to prevent his beloved from leaving with a rival. His strange behavior puzzles everyone he encounters as he struggles through increasingly absurd obstacles. When the clock strikes nine again, reality itself becomes uncertain—leaving readers to question whether Demba's entire odyssey actually happened or existed only in his dying mind.