Jonas Lüscher explores the intricate relationships between individuals and society, often delving into themes of power, identity, and moral decay. His writing is characterized by a penetrating intelligence and formal precision as he examines the dilemmas of modern life with a profound understanding of the human psyche. Lüscher's works resonate urgently with the pressing questions of our time, offering readers provocative insights into our collective existence. His style is a synthesis of philosophical depth and literary dexterity, leaving a lasting impression.
Preising finds himself in Tunisia attending the wedding of two City traders from London. At an old Berber oasis transformed into a luxury resort, the bride rides in on a camel to take her vows. As the guests carouse the night away, sterling stands on the brink of collapse and Britannia looks set to slip beneath the waves of bankruptcy and chaos.
"Richard Kraft, a German professor of rhetoric and aging Reaganite and Knight Rider fan, is unhappily married and badly in debt. He sees no way out of his rut until he is invited to participate in a competition to be held in California and sponsored by a Silicon Valley tycoon and "techno-optimist." The contest is to answer a literal "million-dollar question": each competitor must compose an eighteen-minute lecture on why our world is still, despite all evidence, the best of all possible worlds, and how we might improve it even further through technology. Entering into a surreal American landscape, Kraft soon finds what's left of his life falling to pieces as he struggles to justify as "best" a planet in the hands of such blithe neoliberal cupidity as he encounters on his odyssey to California. Still, with the prize money in his pocket, perhaps Kraft could finally buy his way to a new life ...But what contortions--physical and philosophical--will he have to subject himself to in order to claim it? Jonas Lüscher's second novel, Kraft, is a hilarious and wicked tale about a man facing the ruins of his life, and his world."-- From publisher's description
Jonas LUscher, the author of Barbarian Spring''a most humorous and convincing satire of the ridiculous excesses of those responsible for the financial crisis' (The New York Times Book Review)'returns to the topic of neoliberal arrogance in his Swiss Book Prize winning, hilarious and wicked novel about a man facing the ruins of his life, and his world. Richard Kraft, a German professor of rhetoric and aging Reaganite and Knight Rider fan, is unhappily married and badly in debt. He sees no way out of his rut until he is invited to participate in a competition to be held in California and sponsored by a Silicon Valley tycoon and 'techno-optimist.' The contest is to answer a literal 'million-dollar question': each competitor must compose an eighteen-minute lecture on why our world is still, despite all evidence, the best of all possible worlds, and how we might improve it even further through technology. Entering into a surreal American landscape, Kraft soon finds what's left of his life falling to pieces as he struggles to justify as 'best' a planet in the hands of such blithe neoliberal cupidity as he encounters on his odyssey to California. Still, with the prize money in his pocket, perhaps Kraft could finally buy his way to a new life ... But what contortions'physical and philosophical'will he have to subject himself to in order to claim it' Jonas LUscher's second novel, Kraft, is a hilarious and wicked tale about a man facing the ruins of his life, and his world
Jonas Lüscher untersucht in seinem Buch, wie wir die Welt und uns selbst wahrnehmen und erklären. Er reflektiert über seine eigene Schreibweise und die Rolle engagierter Literatur, während er das Erzählen als Erkenntnisprozess betrachtet, der trotz individueller Perspektiven Ordnungsprinzipien folgt. Ein tiefgründiges Werk über die Möglichkeiten der Literatur.