Willenbrock by Christoph Hein
Translated from the German by Philip Boehm

• Deichmanske Bibliotek, Oslo, Norway

In the new unified Germany, Bernd Willenbrock is the perfect man for the season. A latecomer to the free-market feast, this former East German engineer has shown an ability to adapt to the new environment that is downright Darwinian. The proud owner of a thriving used-car dealership and an attractive second home, he is a generous husband, pleased by his role of provider. The business practically runs itself, leaving Willenbrock free to spice up his days with extramarital adventures. Prosperity seems guaranteed by a steady stream of cash-only clients from Eastern Europe, and plans for a glitzy new showroom are firmly under way.

Willenbrock's self-satisfaction appears impregnable. Yet little by little, a series of ever-more menacing incidents-an attempted break-in, the theft of several cars, a vicious beating-erode his innermost certainties. No amount of locks and latches, it seems, can contain his growing obsession with external safety, relieve his suspicion of those closest to him, or stop the coming violence.

Christoph Hein, a novelist, poet, playwright, and essayist, is among Europe's most respected literary and political voices. A former president of German PEN, he is the author of the internationally acclaimed and award winning novels The Distant Lover and The Tango Player, which have been translated into seventeen languages. He lives in Berlin.