Eva Menasse

Eva Menasse’s novel attempts to enable the very passage of time to be experienced. (...)And therein lies her art. At first sight, the book appears to be an enjoyable, clever, easy read, in witty language with a great deal of malice and Viennese charm. The novel’s sophistication, however, lies entirely in its construction. Each chapter is told from a different character’s perspective, and it takes time for the reader to realise that all these perspectives focus on the protagonist Xane Mole. Her life is narrated, starting with her childhood. Like the chapters of the book, the stages of her life pass by readers like clouds in the sky. At the same time, this abundant life story, saturated with the present, brings in its wake a melancholy sense of the passage of time. (…)
There could be no better combination of understanding and pleasure in a German contemporary novel than in Quasikristalle (Quasicrystals). There is a balance between lightness and wisdom, irony and melancholy. It could also be called esprit, a stop pulled far too rarely in the German style repertoire.

Ijoma Mangold: “Alles ist eitel”
© Die Zeit, 14 February 2013