ILLUSIONS (FABER EDITIONS)

The rediscovery of this lost classic will shift perceptions of German literature in the English speaking world Mercurial seductive smart and startling Megan Nolan Four office workers one unforgettable weekend this shimmering lost German classic unveils the hidden lives inside every employee Welcome to the Wellis Corporation Twenty three storeys of shimmering glass cubicles rattling typewriters spiraling corridors a corporate kingdom with its own neon light Across the glittering panes the acrobatic window cleaner swoops and dives or pauses still as a gargoyle seeing things that nobody else sees Over one weekend we follow four employees into their private worlds An ageing secretary a translator in a mid life crisis a once glamorous typist and a lovelorn trainee Together they reveal the illusions we live by in the workplace in the home and in our own mind s eye Lost for decades since it was first published in Germany in 1959 introduced by Megan Nolan and in a hypnotic new translation by Rob Madole this crystalline debut novel by a pioneering female writer rewrites German literary history