Werke. Berner Ausgabe

In "The Rose" (1925), this collection of short stories, travel reports, fairy tales, dialogues, and monologues, as well as literary and humorous reflections, which forms the conclusion of the fifteen books published by Robert Walser during his lifetime, the author surpasses everything his previous works offered in terms of linguistic wit and burlesque comedy – and presents himself as more experimental than ever: text sampling and montage, wordplay, alienation effects, nonsense, and text interruptions. Walser himself referred to the ensemble he composed in a letter as "the most mischievous, youthful of all my books" and continued: "I find it concerning that you have acquired it. … Hopefully, you will read it with the necessary thoughtfulness." The afterword places the writing conditions discussed in the text within a broader context of the literary scene at the time.