Lukusch

This clever book shows us a great writer capable of a certain nonchalance even while breaking the usual boundaries and playing with the narrative.

Anton Lukusch was an ordinary boy from Prypjat – until 1986 and the tragedy of Chernobyl. Like other children he was evacuated from the devastated area and taken by a charitable organisation to the safety of West Germany in order to escape the horrific levels of radiation. A new life begins for Lukusch. His analytical ability caught the attention of others as he played chess. Here was a high-flyer, a miracle kid. The West Germans loved it! In a game played in the public eye, he beat Chancellor Helmut Kohl, only to go on and solve an apparently impossible puzzle on the popular TV game show ‘Bet you can’t…’. He was even asked to act as an advisor to international companies. But to the lad himself his own spectacular success story seemed of little interest. As if on auto-pilot Anton was able to solve anything put before him and smiled politely at the cameras, as if he were allowing himself to be passed around like a trophy that simply let others into the spotlight. Is the boy ‘simply’ an extraordinary talent? And what’s the ever-present Igor all about? When Anton vanishes without a trace it’s the start of the strangest of series of events…

‘Heisenberg’s refined literary ‘mockumentary’ could almost be the start of another Marvel epic, but it’s actually an intriguing reconstruction of two incredible life stories.’ Alexander Kluge

‘An incredible story from the 1980s, so good it has to be true.’ Christoph Amend, ZEIT magazine