Tibor Fischer is a British novelist and short story writer recognized among the best young British writers by Granta magazine. His work is deeply informed by his Hungarian heritage and his family's experiences, particularly evident in his debut novel which explores survival under a communist regime. Fischer's writing is characterized by a Rabelaisian spirit, delving into themes of identity and cultural collision. His engagement with the art world suggests a nuanced understanding of artistic expression.
Entertaining and often dazzling, this is Tibor Fischer’s second novel. Under the Frog won the Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. A black comedy in the grand tradition of word-drunk intellectuals-en-dementia, The Thought Gang follows the larcenous adventures of blackout alcoholic philosopher Eddie Coffin who, in the wake of scandal, flees his professorship in England to begin the next logical step in his career: robbery. Coffin and his new partner in crime and metaphysics, Hubert the one-armed robber, roadtrip across the Continent in a spree of crime and epistemology, arguing a cracked history of Western philosophy and plumbing the meaning of life.
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Under the Frog follows the adventures of two young Hungarian basketball players through the turbulent years between the end of World War II and the anti-Soviet uprising of 1956. In this spirited indictment of totalitarianism, the two improbable heroes, Pataki and Gyuri, travel the length and breadth of Hungary in an epic quest for food, lodging, and female companionship.
The narrator of this novel is a 30th century BC clay pot which is being appraised by a woman art expert in England. The woman thinks it is a fake, which annoys the pot. It revenges itself by revealing the woman's lurid private life, in the process giving its unflattering opinion of humanity in general. By the author of The Thought Gang.
Using a friend's credit card and identity, Tyndale Corbett arrives in Miami to discover the joys of luxury hotels and above all the delight of being someone else, someone successful. Feeling his previous failure might be due to insufficient ambition, Tyndale decides on a new money-making scheme. He will up the ante exponentially, and pretend to be someone really important and successful: God. His mission to convince the citizenry of Miami that he is, despite appearances, the Supreme Being results in him taking over the Church of the Heavily Armed Christ. His duties there involve him in forming a private army, hiring call girls, trafficking coke, issuing death threats, beating off church-jackers and sorting out (as almightily as possible) various problems his parishioners are having with pets. All the while he is working on his grand project, the clincher miracle: dying and coming back to life...
Oceane likes to travel but never goes out. She brings the world into her home via satellite, the Internet and passing foreigners. Tibor Fischer's novel is about what can be known, what evil looks like, why ketchup is important and how Lambeth Council was rated one of the worst.
A dazzling collection of short fiction, containing stories published in New Writing and the TLS, as well as several new stories. The Novella 'I Like being Killed' takes the lid off the comedy scene in London, investigates where jokes come from and how you
The eighth volume in the British Council's "New Writing" series, which exists to promote the best in contemporary literature. This one features new writing from such people as Louis De Bernieres, Hanif Kureishi, Don Paterson, A.S. Byatt, William Boyd, Lana Citron, and Barry Unsworth.
Was geschieht, wenn ein Autor einen gescheiterten englischen Philosophen erfindet, der Mitte 50, fettleibig, faul und alkoholabhängig ist und nur griechische Philosophie im Kopf hat? Es entsteht eine Klamotte, besonders als dieser Philosoph in Südfrankreich Bankraubzüge plant. Sein einarmiger, einbeiniger Kompagnon, ein heiterer Bluter mit AIDS, verwandelt die Raubzüge in furiose Kabarettnummern. Bei einem Überfall auf eine Bank mit nur 4000 Francs verschenkt er großzügig Geld. Als sie auf ein anderes Räuberduo treffen, fordert er seine Kollegen zu einem seltsamen Duell heraus und kündigt die Überfälle in der Presse an. Dazwischen gibt es absurde Episoden aus dem Leben des Philosophen Eddie Coffin, der sich durch Stipendienveruntreuung und das Versaufen von Verlagsvorschüssen durchs Leben mogelt. Ein grotesker Höhepunkt ist Coffins Versuch, über ein Medium Informationen über das Leben nach dem „Großen Vorhang“ zu erhalten, wobei der herbeizitierte griechische Lyriker nur Chaos anrichtet. Slapstick-Einlagen und Ausflüge in die griechische Philosophie sorgen für zusätzlichen Humor. Coffin kombiniert in seinen Dialogen Sprache aus Gosse und Hörsaal und verleiht seinen Aussagen mit dem Buchstaben z eine besondere Note. Aphorismen und Kalauer machen die Übersetzung zu einer Herausforderung. Tibor Fischers Roman ist eine humorvolle Klamotte in der Tradition von Monty Python, die den Leser auf amüsante Weise unterhält.
