Andreas Maier & Christine Büchner Bullau Versuch über Natur (Bullau: A Nature Sketch) Heinrich & Hahn, March 2006, 130 pp ISBN: 3-86597-038-9 As readers familiar with his novels know, Andreas Maier's hilariously funny and virtuosic works explore the possibilities of the German subjunctive as few writers since Thomas Bernhard have done. No mean challenge for would-be translators, and it's always exciting to see what he'll do next. Well, this is a bird book. Yes, Andreas Maier and his co-author Christine Büchner, as much to their own astonishment as to that of their friends, have become impassioned observers of nature. Respect for their subject and humour are the trademarks of this charming volume, a work which urges readers to look around their own environment and invites them to revel in the richness of the flora and fauna. The two authors describe the areas of Germany they are at home in, sometimes for short periods, as they continuously and modestly add to their knowledge of the fields and woods, exploring the wheres and whys of creatures and welcoming the stories of the people they encounter. It makes for a curiously satisfying read. At a time when speed seems inevitable and weeks pass in a whirl, this invitation to slow down, walk and let nature work its magic, to enjoy at this fragile juncture a pleasure far removed from the Western obsession with money, is welcome. And all this clothed in the most lyrical prose. A small and marvellous surprise.