The Capital: A "House of Cards" for the E.U. - Softcover

Menasse, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0857058630 ISBN 13: 9780857058638

Publisher: MacLehose Press, 2019

Synopsis

THE PRIZE-WINNING SATIRICAL BESTSELLER FROM THE ACCLAIMED ROBERT MENASSE

MORE THAN 500,000 COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE

A "HOUSE OF CARDS" FOR THE EU

This is the tale of a continent, a city and its inhabitants as they navigate their way through the confusing tangle of 21st-century life. The Capital is a brilliantly entertaining satire, a crime story, a comedy of manners . . . and a wild pig chase.

"First-class satire" Guardian"

"A deliciously vicious and timely satire" Financial Times

"Mischievous yet profound" Economist

"Thoroughly entertaining" Spectator

"A romp" Politico

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Brussels. A hive of tragic heroes, manipulative losers, involuntary accomplices. No wonder the European Commission is keen to improve its image.

The fiftieth anniversary of the European Commission approaches, and the Directorate-General for Culture is tasked with organising an appropriate celebration. When Fenia Xenopoulou's assistant comes up with a plan to put Auschwitz at the very centre of the jubilee, she is delighted. But she has neglected to take the other E.U. institutions into account.

Meanwhile the city is on the lookout for a runaway pig. And what about the farmers who take to the streets to protest against restrictions blocking the export of pigs to China?

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See what the critics are saying about The Capital:

"Omniscient" New York Times

"An exceptional work" Kirkus Reviews

"Deliciously witty" Metro

"Elegant... brilliantly constructed" Die Zeit

"Robert Menasse is pioneering the genre of Eurolit" Financial Times

WINNER OF THE GERMAN BOOK PRIZE 2017

About this title

Review:

First-class satire . . .The Capital delivers, within a brilliant satirical fiction, thoughtful and instructive analysis of both the weaknesses in the EU that galvanise leavers and the strengths that motivate remainers. (Mark Lawson Guardian)

A traditional novel, broadshouldered, omniscient, almost Balzac-ian, but with terrorism part of a plot centered
satirically around an all-too-plausible Brussels idea.

(Steven Erlanger New York Times)

The Capital is a mischievous yet profound story about storytelling; about the art of shaping a narrative by finding resonances in the messy stuff of life . . . [An] unexpectedly delightful book about Brussels. (Economist)

Menasse has a finely tuned satirical ear that easily criss-crosses borders . . . an intelligently written, pacy novel whose wide-ranging narratives ensure the momentum never wavers . . . Robert Menasse has produced an extraordinary piece of work (Charlie Connelly New European)

A thoroughly entertaining fiction that serves both as a sort of campus satire and a novel of ideas . . . Menasse packs his Brussels with sharply-etched types . . . With its zest, pace and wit, Jamie Bulloch's translation serves him splendidly. (Boyd Tonkin Spectator)

A deliciously vicious - and timely - satire about the E.U. and the meaning of Europe today (Frederick Studemann Financial Times)

[An] ambitious panorama that arrives amid the throes of Brexit and the Chinese Year of the Pig. Intelligent, fun, sad, insightful - an exceptional work. (Kirkus Reviews)

An elegantly written, brilliantly constructed novel, full of discussion points and ideas (Andreas Isenschmid Die Zeit 2017-09-07)

Rumbustious . . . deliciously witty (Paul Connolly Metro)

The Capital could hardly be more topical . . . It is about Europe reconnecting with its ideals via a tragic past . . . It's a smart read, unlike anything being written in Britain today. (David Herman Jewish Chronicle)

Book Description:

A "House of Cards" for the E.U. Commission - Winner of the German Book Prize

About this edition

• Publisher: MacLehose Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0857058630
• ISBN 13: 9780857058638
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368