George Steiner is internationally renowned as the author of an oeuvre which, taken together, is one of the shaping influences of our time. Steiner himself describes his work in the genre as 'allegories of argument, or 'scripts for thought'. He asks the question; in what ways is the seeming collapse of messianic Marxism a stringent test more for an idealist and ascetic in the west than for anyone in the east? In the title story, the subject of this examination is the 'Professore', a proofreader working in Italy. As in his early work, Steiner uses fiction to give voice to what is either taboo or unspoken. 'Proofs and Three Parables' is a collection by a contemporary master.

A collection of stories which span intimacy and politics, violence and calm. The settings include the depths of the Pacific and the Amazonian forests, the Poland of the death camps, and Italy after the collapse of Marxism.