War and Love
Krieg und Liebe

Lukas Bärfuss Cover
Wallstein
March 2018 / 288pp
Non-Fiction

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review

War and Love is a collection of essays by one of the leading lights in contemporary Swiss culture. Lukas Bärfuss’s writing is as original and thought-provoking as his thinking, a George Orwell for our times.

Bärfuss’s critical gaze ranges over an impressive array of issues. No topic is off-limits for the author, who delves into fundamental philosophical questions just as readily as he explores everyday themes. Bärfuss’s essays are insightful excursions into literature, history, philosophy, music, contemporary living, social questions and politics. His style is gratifyingly sharp and precise, enabling his readers to follow the sequence of his thoughts, step-by-step, and observe how they are reflected in the lucid prose. This slim volume has considerable depth as Bärfuss writes about antique tragedies, Sakurai, the life of a cleaning products salesman, Stendhal, cultural politics in Zürich, contemporary literature and theatre, Benjamin, toothache and semantic problems. The author’s success as a playwright shines through in his powerful, punchy prose and the dramatic eloquence of his rhetoric, guiding his readers through an arresting intellectual experience.

War and Love is a book that stimulates and enriches contemporary thought through thematic depth and stylistic virtuosity.

about the author

Lukas Bärfuss was born in 1971 and lives in Zurich. A novelist and playwright, his dramas are staged around the world to critical acclaim and he has been awarded numerous prizes for his fiction, including the Swiss Literature Prize (2014). Since 2015, Bärfuss has been a member of the prestigious German Academy of Language and Literature.

rights information

Wallstein Verlag (Germany)

lvanleewen@wallstein-verlag.de

Tel: +49 (0)551 5489846

www.wallstein-verlag.de

translation assistance

Pro Helvetia covers up to 100% of the effective translation costs for literary works by Swiss authors.

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