Matias Faldbakken

In the tradition of modern classics The Dinner and A Gentleman in Moscow comes The Waiter, in which the finely tuned balance of a grand European restaurant (that has seen better days) is irrevocably upset by an unexpected guest. In a centuries-old European restaurant called The Hills, a middle-aged waiter takes pride in the unchangeable aspects of his job: the well-worn uniform, the ragged but solid tablecloths, and the regular diners. Some are there daily, like Graham “Le Gris”—also known as The Pig—and his dignified group of aesthetes; the slightly more free-spirited drinking company around Tom Sellers; and the closest one can get to personal friends of the waiter, Edgar and his young daughter, Anna. In this universe unto itself, there is scarcely any contact between the tables...until a beautiful and well-groomed young woman walks through the door and upsets the delicate balance of the restaurant and all it has come to represent. Like living in a snow globe, The Waiter is a captivating study in miniature. Everything is just so, and that’s exactly how the waiter needs it to be. One can understand why he becomes anxious when things begin to change. In fact, given the circumstances, anxiety just might be the most sensible response... With the sophistication of The Remains of the Day and the eccentricity of The Elegance of the Hedgehog, The Waiter marks the North American debut of an exciting new voice in literary fiction.

The Waiter

roman

Vi er fem

Eine gnadenlose Attacke gegen die vorherrschende Konsensgesellschaft Norwegens Skandalautor von 'The Cocka Hola Company' legt nach. Frech und provokativ treibt er in seinem zweiten Roman das Spiel mit den Grenzüberschreitungen weiter und karikiert mit bitterbösem Humor die pervertierte Welt des Konsums. Matias Faldbakken, 1973 geboren, lebt als bildender Künstler in Oslo. 2003 erschien sein aufsehenerregender Debütroman 'The Cocka Hola Company'. Bühnenfassungen sind an den Münchner Kammerspielen und am Stuttgarter Staatstheater geplant; bei BMG erschien das gleichnamige Hörbuch. Faldbakken gilt als einer der bedeutendsten Schriftsteller und Gegenwartskünstler Skandinaviens. Er vertrat Norwegen bei der Biennale in Venedig.

Roman

Macht und Rebel

Biz Bes Kisiyiz

Abo Rasul

(skandinavisk misantropi)

The Cocka Hola Company

Wo Houllebecq aufhört, fängt Matias Faldbakken erst an. Selten hat ein Buch über die Abgründe der Konsensgesellschaft sowohl in Skandinavien als auch in den deutschen Feuilletons derart für Aufsehen gesorgt. Ein gut gelaunter, herrlich unterhaltender Angriff auf die grossen Lebenslügen von Selbstverwirklichung und individuellem Glück. Matias Faldbakken, 1973 geboren, lebt als bildender Künstler in Oslo. 2003 erschien sein aufsehenerregender Debütroman 'The Cocka Hola Company'. Bühnenfassungen sind an den Münchner Kammerspielen und am Stuttgarter Staatstheater geplant; bei BMG erschien das gleichnamige Hörbuch. Faldbakken gilt als einer der bedeutendsten Schriftsteller und Gegenwartskünstler Skandinaviens. Er vertrat Norwegen bei der Biennale in Venedig.

The Cocka Hola Company / aus dem Norweg. von Hinrich Schmidt-Henkel

Skandinavische Misanthropie

Velkommen til The Hills, Oslos mest velansete og hæderkronede restaurant, gennemsyret af tradition og elegance og fyldt med tjenere, stamgæster, lysekrone og garderobefolk, mezzanin, varekældre, barchef og huspianist. Interiøret er centraleuropæisk med mosaikker i koncentriske cirkler på gulvet og væggene fulde af portrætter, tegninger, malerier og klistermærker. Romanens fortæller har været stedets tjener i tretten år. Med sin diskretion og sit fulde overblik over alt, hvad der sker i lokalet, er han romanens øjne og ører. Ideen om det gamle Europa holdes i hævd i den noget nedslidte restaurant. Der hersker en veletableret orden, hvor alt har sin plads, og intet udefra trænger ind. Indtil truslen om uro og forandring pludselig melder sig i form af en purung kvinde, der en dag sætter sig sammen med det faste klientel.

The Hills

Den ensomme fostergutten Oskar jobber på bruket til Aud og Olav Blum for kost og losji. En dag oppdager han et barn i skogen, en utemmet unge, som han fanger og tar med seg hjem. Ungen lider av veksthemming og er nesten helt uten språk. Men under Oskars forpleining begynner den å utvikle seg i en rasende fart

Stakkar

Max Stadler

Skandinavische Misanthropie lll

Unfun

Wij zijn met vijf

Exquisitely observed and wickedly playful, The Waiter is a novel for lovers of food, wine, and of European sensibilities, but also for anyone who spends time in restaurants, on either side of the service. 'Delicious.' New York Times 'As if The Remains of the Day had been written by Kingsley Amis . . . brilliantly exquisite . . . This book is a meal you won't want to finish.' J. Ryan Stradal 'A sly amuse bouche of a novel . . . its atmosphere and observations are deliciously rich.' Mail on Sunday Welcome to The Hills, Oslo's most esteemed restaurant, an institution stewed in tradition and clinging to the faded grandeur of old Europe. A neurotic waiter tends to the desires of his clientele. Aristocrats and artistes, wealthy widows and roguish entrepreneurs, he observes all their dramas with a wit as sharp as a filleting knife. At table ten sits the impeccable Mr Graham, impatiently awaiting a special guest. When at last she arrives - young, beautiful, mysterious - she will prove to be a challenging new flavour, threatening both our waiter's nerves, and the delicately balanced ingredients of the room.

Faldbakken is a young artist with a considerable interest in counter-cultural phenomena i.e. positions and strategies formulated in opposition to society's norms and conventions. This exhibition is the first large scale presentation of his work.

Shocked Into Abstraction

Reštaurácia The Hills v Osle má charakter. Pochádza zo starosvetských čias, v polovici 19. storočia ju založil Angličan Hill. Všetko o nej a jej návštevníkoch sa dozvieme z rozprávania čašníka, záhadnej postavy, ktorá však o sebe a svojom živote neprezradí vôbec nič. Nevieme dokonca ani to, ako sa volá. Je akýmsi ironizujúcim a mizantropickým prostredníkom, cez ktorého má čitateľ možnosť dôkladne sa oboznámiť s interiérom a s charaktermi jednotlivých „postavičiek“: so štamgastom Grahamom – známym aj pod prezývkou Prasa, vždy obklopeným decentným hlúčikom estétov; s o čosi temperamentnejšou skupinou okolo Toma Sellersa či jediným čašníkovým priateľom Edgarom aj jeho dcérou Annou. V tomto trochu ošumelom mikrosvete sa udržuje idea starej Európy. Panuje tu osvedčený poriadok, všetko má svoje miesto a zvonka sem prenikne len sotvačo. A presne tak to čašníkovi vyhovuje. Hrozba nepokoja a zmeny sa však jedného dňa predsa len objaví v podobe nečakaného hosťa: otrasie základmi stabilného vesmíru a naruší starostlivo pestovanú podnikovú symbiózu. Reštaurácia The Hills je originálny, vtipný a zábavný román o narušených spoločenských štruktúrach a kultúre kolísajúcej na hrane poriadku a úpadku.

Reštaurácia The Hills

Christoph Keller

Tiré du site Internet de JRP/Ringier : "Matias Faldbakken (*1973) is an artist and writer living in Oslo. Son of the celebrated Norwegian author Knut Faldbakken, he has published two novels, "The Cocka Hola Company" and "Macht und Rebel" under the alias Abo Rasul. Drenched with acid humor and continuously hitting below the waist, his books immediately caused a considerable stir in Norway. If, in these publications, he underlines the differences and similarities between the so-called underground and the mainstream, and between the "independent" and the "commercial" in everyday life, these subjects are also central to his art practice. Fascinated with systems of knowledge, power, order, and exchange, he shows an interest in understanding how art and artists can be active participants in these systems. Faldbakken studied at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Bergen as well as at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main. He represented Norway in the Nordic Pavillion at the Venice Biennial in 2005, as well as showing his work in the Wrong Gallery at the Whitney Biennial, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the National Museum Oslo, the Sydney Biennial and the KW Institute for Contemporary Art Berlin, among others."

Matias Faldbakken

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