Excerpt: The Twenty-seventh Man

Zunser felt the coldness of the floor seeping into his bones, turning them brittle. It was time ayway. He had lived a long life, enjoyed recognition for something he loved doing. All the others who had reached his level of fame had gone to the ovens, or were in America. How much more meaningless was success with the competition gone? Why write at all when your readers have been turned to ash? Never outlive your language. Zunser rolled onto his side.

~ “The Twenty-seventh Man” by Nathan Englander
(amazing short story, highly recommended)