Raul Zelik Berliner Verhältnisse (Berlin Affairs) Blumenbar Verlag, 2005, 320 pp. ISBN 3-936738-18-1 Longlisted for the German Book Prize A surprise hit that made it onto the long-list – an endearing portrait, bursting with humour, of the shifting sands of contemporary Berlin seen through the eyes of the unlikely – but exceedingly likeable – hero, Mario. Mario has passed that thirty-year-old threshold and something has to change. Suddenly things are starting to bother him – his flatmates’ choice of music (loud gypsy tunes) when the Romanians are visiting, the smell of frying aubergines, his brother’s smugness – these and other details that have left him unruffled until now. Even his inordinately relaxed mother is questioning the shape of his days. So when the opportunity to make a little money for himself and his flatmates comes along – an appealing and at times Robin Hood style gathering in of debts – he jumps at it. And when the pretty Bosnian shopkeeper, Melek, seems open to his overtures, his drifting Berlin life takes on a whole new purpose. But the path of love and business doesn’t always run smooth… A hilarious romp in which comparisons could be drawn with Sven Regener (Berlin Blues) and Wladimir Kaminer (Russian Disco). But Raul Zelik’s voice is all his own.