Young Hans arrives with one suitcase in a village on the eastern edge of empire – a surreal postwar Austria. His uncle has died, and according to the tradition required by his people – the Bieresch – Hans must assume his uncle’s place for one year. In a series of interactions with the village’s tragicomic characters and their contradictory stories and scriptures, the reluctant Hans must face a world both familiar and alien. This piece of culture-shock fiction revels in exploring oppressive cultural baggage and assimilation.

Link to Onleihe

German original title