A Bad End is a novel that accounts for almost a century of Spanish history and mercilessly dissects human cruelty. It is the story of Goyito, a dwarf at the end of his life, who recounts to us, with bitterness and sarcasm, the miserable reality of his lonely childhood, his macabre experiences as a circus clown, his liaisons dangereuses in Madrid's underworld. Mischief, desire, death, ambition, and revenge-the life of a rascal, told in exuberant, exhilarating language that makes the reader shift from laughter to grimace, from admiration to bewilderment.