The Hungry and the Fat

Satirical, sharp, believable . . . Brilliant * RTE *
The prospect that nearly half a million people are going to show up at the German border becomes a real one. Can they be bought off? Sabotaged? Mowed down? Can a fence be built? Electrified? And how will all this play with the folks back home? The novel starts to acquire a deeply involving game-theoretical aspect . . . [W]ith whizz-bang energy and gleeful imaginative savagery. His achievement is to make this exodus, and the shaming hypocrisy of western reactions towards it, seem altogether plausible * Guardian *
Bolder and funnier than Look Who's Back -- Christoph Maria Herbst
An outlandish, take-no-prisoners satire that skewers timid politicians, greedy TV executives, and the general public's thirst for global meaning disguised as entertainment. Its plotting is crisp, fast-moving, and entertaining. * Bookmunch *
A great book: funny, wicked, tragic -- Kester Schlenz * Stern *
The first thing to say about Vermes' second novel is that Jamie Bulloch's translation is immaculate: tight, nuanced and waspish. The second striking thing about this novel is how very good it is . . . Ingenuity keeps the pages turning . . . there are powerful insights into the lives and longings of refugees that make this more than mere satire. It's a book that engages deeply. -- Alex Preston * Financial Times *
An immensely enjoyable read * Spectator *
In Timur Vermes' hands, truth, reality and possibility become weapons in his fight against apathy and division. Translated with mouth-watering sharpness by Jamie Bulloch, this latest novel . . . is a caustic, clever satire with a powerful emotional core * Irish Times *
Vermes' very readable satire cuts close to the bone in its take on what continues to be the defining issue in German politics today. * Sydney Morning Herald *