Short Circuit
A Novel
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected 21 Apr 2026
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- 19,99 €
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- Pre-Order
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- 19,99 €
Publisher Description
“An act of intricate, puzzle-minded fabulism. Part Italo Calvino and part Ed McBain.”—Jim Lewis, Author of New York Times Notable Book Ghosts of New York
“[A] playful literary mystery . . . Fans of Anthony Horowitz will find a lot to like.” —Publishers Weekly
A clever, electrifying puzzle of a novel, inspired by MC Escher’s optical illusions, in which two mirrored plots —a man waiting for an electrician and a mafia informant entering witness protection— delightfully converge.
Franz Escher is waiting for the electrician. His power outlet has a loose connection. To pass the time, he buries himself in a book about a Mafioso-turned-informant Elio Russo. Elio is in jail, awaiting his imminent release into witness protection. He has betrayed so many people that he fears for his life. Unable to sleep, he lies awake at night reading a book about a man named Franz Escher who's waiting for the electrician. His power outlet has a loose connection. . .
So begins Wolf Haas’s Short Circuit, an inventive new take on the detective novel. Styled
after one of M. C. Escher’s impossible drawings, its two stories gradually intertwine only to solve each other, culminating in one final short circuit. A phenomenon after its German
publication, this brilliantly entertaining novel promises to defy all expectation.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Two plots intertwine in this playful literary mystery from Austrian crime novelist Haas (Brenner and God). Franz Escher is waiting alone in his apartment for an electrician to come and fix his power outlet. To pass the time, he works on jigsaw puzzles and reads a book about incarcerated Mafia snitch Elio Russo, who fears his cellmate Sven might kill him while he sleeps. Meanwhile, in prison, Elio reads one of Sven's books to stay awake and alive; it's about a man named Franz Escher who's waiting for an electrician to fix his power outlet. Eventually, the two stories merge, and the plot expands to include a kidnapping and a ransom before a heartwarming act of selflessness redeems both men. Drawing inspiration from M.C. Escher's mind-bending graphic art, Haas toys with literary conventions including double identities and problems of translation to dazzling effect, though knowing that the protagonists are only characters in each other's books dulls the emotional impact. Still, this is a clever, wryly funny ride enhanced by a memorable supporting cast—especially the sympathetic Judge Falcone, who whisks Elio from his cell, and Frauke, Elio's lively German tutor. Fans of Anthony Horowitz will find a lot to like.
