Wolf Haas: “Wackelkontakt”The funny son of avant-garde culture

For the clever narrator Wolf Haas, it was always too boring to simply brush off reality. In his writing workshop there are no simple techniques, but endless fun – like in his new novel. An encounter in Vienna.

A man named Franz Escher called an electrician because his kitchen socket had a loose connection. He passes the waiting time by reading a novel. It begins with a young Italian named Elio Russo waiting to be released from prison in Calabria. He testified as a key witness against the ‘Ndrangheta and is now supposed to find a new life through the witness protection program. Elio is very afraid of being murdered by the ‘Ndrangheta’s henchmen shortly before his release and distracts himself by reading a novel. Franz Escher’s doorbell rings, the electrician shows up, turns out two fuses in the hallway and begins the repair work…