Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: English world rights (Contra Mundum), Spanish world rights (Galaxia Gutenberg), France (Verdier), Czech Republic (Archa), Slovenia (Hermagoras)
In Josef Winkler’s native village there used to be a »bone-cooker«, who would collect the bones of the animals from slaughterhouses, put them in a clay jug and let them simmer on glowing coals until a black brew smelling of decomposition formed. The farmers would spread this liquid around the horses’ eyes, ears and nostrils to keep away pesky insects.
In this book, narrator Maximilian takes on the task of collecting bones and stories. Soberly, he reports the...
In Josef Winkler’s native village there used to be a »bone-cooker«, who would collect the bones of the animals from slaughterhouses, put them in a clay jug and let them simmer on glowing coals until a black brew smelling of decomposition formed. The farmers would spread this liquid around the horses’ eyes, ears and nostrils to keep away pesky insects.
In this book, narrator Maximilian takes on the task of collecting bones and stories. Soberly, he reports the stories of the deaths of his relatives and the villagers. Death follows death; death is caused by cancer, by tractor wheels or by one’s own hand. When a story is finished, the narrator puts the bones of the deceased into the clay jug. Never before has Josef Winkler told the life stories of his village from the end, as death stories, so confidently, urgently and with such perfect form.
DISCOVER
Josef Winkler Receives the Austrian Franz Kafka Prize 2024
The Austrian author has received the Franz Kafka Prize 2024 in recognition of his oeuvre.DISCOVER
Josef Winkler Receives the Austrian Franz Kafka Prize 2024
The Austrian author has received the Franz Kafka Prize 2024 in recognition of his oeuvre.Persons
OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Embark on the Journey or Manipulator of Sunbeams
It is fuelled by life and death in his native Kamering, by the bustle of Italian markets – by the turbulence between the pyres in Varanasi, India. But it can also be fuelled by books, paintings and sculptures, as this collection shows. And sometimes it ignites itself, the zest for language simply starts to burn – when the author sweeps together what needs to be sung of. Then he...

The City Chronicler of Kolkata
»On New Market two white roosters with sickle-shaped tails and red, jagged, translucent, upright combs that keep flapping to one side like rubber with every movement are standing in a basket. All around the shining light bulbs are coated in silver foil, so that the light falls focused on the piles of papayas, mangos and the fruits of the pineapples from Kerala.« This is one of the chapter...

Take the Blame, Father or Death Be Writ into My Heart
It was only a few years ago that Josef Winkler learned about the fact that his fellow Carinthian Odilo Globocnik, who had headed the »Aktion Reinhardt« and boasted about the mass...
Spanish world rights (De Conatus), France (Verdier), Czech Republic (Archa), Bulgaria (Black Flamingo)
Domestic Rights Sales: German Audiobook (Der Diwan)

Saying Reality as Though It Wasn't Real Anyway or The Angels' Tantrums
After Josef Winkler received the Georg Büchner Prize in Darmstadt on 1 November 2008, he gave a speech that forms the basis of this book. It answers a few questions: Josef Winkler,...
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Czech Republic (Archa)

I'm Going to Pluck One of My Eyelashes Out and Stab You to Death With It
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Slovenia (LUD Literatura)

Roppongi
Bulgaria (Black Flamingo)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: France (Verdier), Czech Republic (Archa), Croatia (Leykam), Slovenia (Hermagoras/Mohorjeva)

Corpse, Stalking Its Family
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Czech Republic (Archa)

Natura morta
Denmark (Sidste Århundrede), Slovenia (Cankarjeva založba), Turkey (Ketebe)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: English world rights (Contra Mundum), Spanish world rights (Galaxia Gutenberg), Russia (AST), France (Verdier), Italy (Forum), Norway (Solum), Czech Republic (Archa), Bulgaria (Black Flamingo), Lithuania (Kitos Knygos), Croatia (Leykam), Bosnia (Vrijeme), Ukraine (Knihy XXI)

Domra
Macedonia (Ars Lamina)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: France (Verdier), Czech Republic (Archa)

Flowers for Jean Genet
Czech Republic (Archa)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: USA (Ariadne Press), France (Verdier), Serbia (Karpos)

Graveyard of Bitter Oranges
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: English world rights (Contra Mundum), Spanish world rights (Galaxia Gutenberg), Russia (AST), France (Verdier)

The Serf
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: USA (Ariadne), France (Verdier)

The Abduction
France (Verdier)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Japan (Dogakusha), Ukraine (Krytyka)