René Templ, a young man and writer, finds a mentor, his intellectual paternity, in Karl Senegger. At the same time, however, he shirks his duties towards his wife and his child - as soon as he feels needed as a father, he shrinks to the size of his son. Karl Senegger, on his part, failed as a father; his son Viktor jumps to death. Was it an irrational act, the final drop of attraction between opposite poles? Or a desperate attempt to stand up against the one you owe your life? Karl Senegger shirks his responsibilities. The father who lost his son finally publishes his child’s literary legacy. Four interwoven stories form this novel, all connected through their subjects, characters and motives. Clemens J. Setz illustrates how sons make their fathers grow, and fathers their sons – and how they break in the presence of each other. Sensitive and tender, joyously playful, but also with confidence and ease – this is a new voice, young and so diversified, a fascinating find. Rewarded with the Ernst-Willner-Preis 2008 at the Bachmann-Wettbewerb and nominated for the aspekte literature award 2007. A haunting novel on fathers who remain sons, and sons who become fathers. An impressive literary debut.

Karin lives with her boyfriend Alexander in a house by the woods. Her foster-sister Lisa once lived there too, along with her parents August and Inge, sister Margarethe and brother Peter. Back then Karin and Lisa were happy; they grew as fast as the brambles, dived to the bottom of the lake hand in hand, and hid in the tiny caves formed by tree roots. Then something happened; August died and the foster child was banished. Years later Karin fetches Lisa back, and the two women become entangled in a game as destructive as it is seductive, sucked into a whirlpool of addiction, attraction and repulsion which holds us enthralled till the final page.