Wagner, an all-efficient German engineer, takes in hand the job of rescuing a floundering construction project in the South American rain forest. But before he even reaches the site, his car runs over an emerald-green Acaray snake–marking him, according to local beliefs, for death. Things go from bad to worse. Wagner’s slowly degenerating colleagues are useless; his attempts to help the workers bring on a strike that the military regime suppresses; and he botches up the Company’s delicate system of bribery. The building is sinking into the red mud faster than it is being built. Losing ground, Wagner tensely observes himself losing balance and events take an ugly turn.

If this, Uwe Timm’s enchanting novel, were a cautionary tale, the tag line would go something like this: Should you plan to be in Berlin on Midsummer Night, the time of the summer solstice – Watch Out! The narrator of Timm’s story is a writer who simply can’t get started on his next book. So he accepts a commission to write an article about potatoes. He has some interest in the subject because of an uncle who could, remarkably, from taste alone, differentiate one species of potato from another. Since one of the authorities on the subject worked in East Berlin, our hero takes off to do some research. Rushing around the newly united city, he becomes involved in a series of madcap adventures, strange entanglements, and odd, sometimes threatening encounters. Uwe Timm spins a fascinating tale here, one filled with surprise, magic, comedy, and hope.

The first thing to be said about Uwe Timm’s novel Headhunter, as every one of the many outstanding reviews on its publication in Germany noted, is that it is a thoroughly engrossing book - “gripping and entertaining from beginning to end” (FAZ). The second thing is that Timm, with a wonderfully light and precise touch, has created a multi-layered, multi-faceted book that addresses the times we live in and, most particularly, the role of money and the financial cannibalism of recent years. The narrator Peter Walter is a charmer, a master storyteller who has used that skill to siphon off millions from clients hoping to strike it rich on the commodities market. Escaping to Spain on the day his trial verdict is to come down, he intends to devote himself to his hobby, study of Easter Island. But a detective is on the trail of the missing millions, and Walter’s uncle, an established author, is planning to use Walter’s life story in a novel. Walter sets out to write his own intriguing autobiography - from his childhood in Hamburg’s red-light district to his success in the world of high finance.

Wagner, an all-efficient German engineer, takes in hand the job of rescuing a floundering construction project in the South American rain forest. But before he even reaches the site, his car runs over an emerald-green Acaray snake–marking him, according to local beliefs, for death. Things go from bad to worse. Wagner’s slowly degenerating colleagues are useless; his attempts to help the workers bring on a strike that the military regime suppresses; and he botches up the Company’s delicate system of bribery. The building is sinking into the red mud faster than it is being built. Losing ground, Wagner tensely observes himself losing balance and events take an ugly turn.