Also sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen (Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None) is a philosophical novel by Friedrich Nietzsche, composed in four parts between 1883 and 1885. Hard to categorise, the work is a treatise on philosophy, a masterly work of literature, in parts a collection of poetry and in others a parody of and amendment to the Bible. Consisting largely of speeches by the book's hero, prophet Zarathustra, the work's content extends across a mass of styles and subject matter. Nietzsche himself described the work as "the deepest ever written." Due to the complexity of Nietzsche's prose it is at times impossible to translate his ideas accurately. By reading Nietzsche's original text along with Common's classic English translation it is hoped that the reader can better understand this dense work.