On its publication in German, Against the World was hailed as an immediate classic. "One of the most spectacular debuts of recent decades," said Kulturspiegel, while Der Spiegel went even farther: "Against the World is the book of books." Now English-language readers will get their first chance to see what German readers have already learned: this is a big, ambitious, over-the-top masterpiece.
Set in the East Friesia region of Germany in the mid-1970s, Against the World tells the story of Daniel Kuper, the nominal heir to a drugstore dynasty, and his...