“Anyone who smiled at the world like that had to have a screw loose. Or one protective plate too few over his soul.“
For years, Eva Menasse gathered information from the animal world that, like reverse fables, seemed to her to reveal something about human behavior: caterpillars that dig their own graves, sharks that are given artificial respiration, ducks that keep a lookout for predators even when they’re asleep, sheep that shed their own wool. Each of these stories begins with a curious message from the animal world yet is dedicated entirely to the human species. An old despot who is extremely resistant to change can’t stop his wife’s dementia from erasing his past as well. A dedicated mother who protects a Muslim child against hostilities ultimately finds the lines between good and bad, right and wrong, blurring even for her. A woman realizes just how much her father’s fate has influenced her – both in her quirks and deepest fears. And a group of handpicked artists and scientists rehearses a grotesque revolution in the sweltering southern heat.
Like in her previous books, Menasse once again proves her storytelling talent and enthralls her readers with her sharp wit and melancholy earnestness.
“No other German contemporary novel could possibly combine knowledge and pleasure better than Quasikristalle does. Lightness and wisdom, and irony and melancholy keep each other in check.” Ijoma Mangold, Die Zeit, on Quasikristalle
“It’s a pleasure to read a book that is this at home in the present.” Der Spiegel on Quasikristalle
“Artfully constructed and linguistically stunning.” KulturSpiegel on Lässliche Todsünden
