Language: German.

The short Leo Richters Porträt is fiction and non-fiction combined. In the first part of the book, Leo Richter, a psychotic writer who also was one of the main protagonists in Daniel Kehlmann's Ruhm, is being followed by a journalist. The journalist is working on an intimate portrait of the rather frightened and doubtful Richter, penetrating him with questions on every imagineable topic. The first sentence translates like this:

A magazine wanted to publish a portrait of Leo Richter: eight pages, two big images, maybe even his picture on the cover. Without hesitation, Richter accepted, and immediately felt sorry.

The second part is an integral feature from the German weekly Die Zeit. Adam Soboczynski portraits Kehlmann in his home cities Berlin and Vienna. Soboczynski gives us a great view of Germany's Wunderkind, whose career didn't start with the success he experiences now.

Language read: German. Nederlandse vertaling hier. English translation here.

A man who gets phone calls meant for somebody else, and decides to take on the other person’s identity. A writer, who is biased to turn his vicinity into literature. A psychotic internet addict who gets cut off the world wide web. A shift leader who lives parallel lives. A famous actor, who would rather be unknown. A bestseller author, who reaches his highest level with a gun pointed at him. An old woman who takes on a journey to a suicide clinic after being diagnosed with cancer. These people interact in 9 episodes, mingling between real life and fictional state of mind.

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