Per Olov Enquist Award
Prix Cévennes for Best European Novel

Juli Zeh – Gaming Instinct

fiction

576pp (151,000 words)

» About the author

English sample translation (pdf)

»A nihilist, according to Nietzsche, has recognized the absurdity of human existence but in spite of - or precisely because of - this realization, learns to love his life and his fate (amor fati). Ada and Alev do not at all try to love their fate. The game they are playing evolves from the arbitrariness of existence, which permits them to set the rules as they choose.« Juli Zeh

> Prix Cévennes (France) for best European novel

> Shortlisted for the ANGELUS Central European Literature Award

> No. 1 on the ZEIT Bestseller List

> SPIEGEL Bestseller List

> No. 2 on the ORF Bestseller List

Set in the heart of the west of the German Republic at a high school in Bonn in the present day, this is the breath-taking story of students Ada and Alev and their obsessive dependence on one another: initially it leads to a readiness - then to a compulsion - to perform acts which overstep all moral bounds, all human compassion, and are beyond any form of predictable behaviour. The two youngsters select their teacher, Smutek, as victim of their ingenious blackmail. A malicious game begins.

The book starts gently enough: Ada, an extremely self-confident fourteen-year-old, is the new kid at Ernst Bloch High School. The regular school week doesnít stretch her and her teachers are for the most part feeble opponents in intellectual tussles. Ada doesnít attract much attention at first. This is to change and no mistake as the novel progresses.

Generally in world politics the fronts of "good" and "evil" have become jumbled up by the inroads of terrorism and the consequences of a collapsed world order, and to this backdrop a captivating story develops in the microcosm of Ernst Bloch High School: it starts gently and then unavoidably careers towards a chain of incredible events until the teacher, Smutek, finally wreaks revenge on his students, liberating himself in an act of violence.

SPIELTRIEB is a major novel about immorality and its consequences and it questions the continued validity of traditional principles and values and poses one of the most significant questions of our time: who today can say what is good and what is evil, and how can they know?

»Juli Zeh is one of the most exciting voices to emerge in German writing in recent years. After her dramatic debut ADLER UND ENGEL, her new novel SPIELTRIEB is a daring literary achievement, questioning the very heart of contemporary German society with a powerful story of sexual exploitation. She writes like nobody else about the post-nihilist emptiness of the new European fun generation, exploring the vacuum of values with shocking honesty. SPIELTRIEB gives us a compelling and provocative view of the future, with a rare kind of philosophical insight.« Hugo Hamilton

Rights sold

Brazil - Record
Brazil (stage rights) - Paso d'Arte/CIA Teatro Epigenia
France (trade & paperback) - Actes Sud/Babel
Georgia – Ibis
Greece - Opus Magnum
Italy - Fazi
The Netherlands (trade & midprice) – Ambo|Anthos
Norway - Gyldendal
Poland - W.A.B.
Slovenia - Ucila
Spain (Castilian) - Kailas
Sweden - Weyler
Turkey - Metis

paperback – Random House/btb
audio book – Der Audio Verlag
stage adaptation - world premiere at the Deutsche Schauspielhaus Hamburg
film rights sold

previously published / rights reverted
Czech Republic - Odeon/Euromedia
Denmark - Samleren
Sweden - Norstedts

book club – Büchergilde Gutenberg

» Contact

Reviews

»Mind-blowing, admirable, revealing a razor-sharp intellect. Juli Zeh is an exceptionally gifted writer. In her Musil-like language, plastic and rigorous, a self-reflective, ironical game develops: fast-paced, high frequency, with maximum stakes. SPIELTRIEB stands symbolic for a new generation that has not yet been categorized. They know everything. But they believe in nothing. A poetic reflection on philosophic questions of existence, ethics and identity.«
Die ZEIT

»Impressive enough, how Juli Zeh seems to be able to come up with intelligent, profound novels as though it was nothing. Even more impressive: the way she manages to analyze existential questions in such a crystal clear, unpretentious manner.« Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

»Such intense, exciting writing of the highest literary calibre, this novel is impossible to put down. Reminding the reader of the dramatically precise language of Robert Musil, this stunning and alarmingly credible novel illustrates how innocuous students can turn into terrorists. Written with scenic humor and psychological sensitiveness, enriching our perception and our fantasy.«
Der Spiegel

»Juli Zeh has written a true major novel of distinguished literary style, disturbing and suspenseful, mirroring the social status quo of the ‚new’ Europe... Not only has Juli Zeh composed a great literary work, but at the same time a highly intelligent diagnosis of our time.« Oberösterreicher Nachrichten

»SPIELTRIEB continues the subversive tradition of German literary and philosophical masters. At the highest stage of literary skill, it draws a fascinating, pitch dark image of modern life... A ground-breaking talent!« Berliner Zeitung

»Juli Zeh’s debut novel ADLER UND ENGEL already was a worldwide success, for which film rights have now been sold. That’s what happens to an author who is intellectually gifted in all respects – and very possibly the cleverest writer of her generation. Juli Zeh’s accomplished literary style can only be compared to the classics.«
»Above everything else, Juli Zeh is to be notified as a contemporary writer. In SPIELTRIEB, she tells a fair bit about the German scene, thirteen years after Unification. A densely composed novel about the hybris of two adolescents using their daunting intelligence to cross all moral boundaries.«
Frankfurter Rundschau

»The plot of this novel resembles a scientific test arrangement, at its centre the existential questions of life: signification, values, purpose – can these coordinates still exist today? Is it possible to differentiate good from evil if they don’t?« taz

»Juli Zeh is the genial exception from the general rule that authors born in the Seventies lack the necessary experience to incorporate social reality into their writing. SPIELTRIEB exposes the condition of present-day society with awe-inspiring epical force. A novel of thought daring enough to question the voids of the present in the face of the future.« Freitag

»Juli Zeh, known as an unconventional, exceptionally articulate author (...), is now stirring up the literary scene once more with her acute prose. In her almost frightfully precise, trained-through-Robert Musil language Juli Zeh shows how intelligent students can indeed turn into terrorists.« Welt am Sonntag

»A political novel in the best sense of the word: written with heart and common sense, shaping our political awareness and our view of the world we live in.«
Brigitte

»An utterly gripping novel.«
Hamburger Morgenpost

»An unforgettable read.«
Sächsische Zeitung

»Zeh’s language radiates glittering, ice-cold beauty.« Freie Presse

»A thrilling novel, daring and absorbing. Juli Zeh ranks among the most inspiring authors of German literature.« Stuttgarter Zeitung

»A book that you won’t be able to put down, a rare and insightful reading pleasure (...). Juli Zeh is the empress of her generation of writers.«
Die Presse/Spectrum

»A provocative remake of the social novel translated into the here and now; a work of analytical brililance.«
bluetenleser

»SPIELTRIEB is full of suspense, almost like a crime story - and at the same time opens a philosophical discourse about the arbitrariness of postmodern ethics.«
NDR Kulturjournal

»Zeh’s language is clear, her thoughts stringent, her judgments unobscured. Her novel is loaded with fascinating observations, opening up an entire cosmos of thought. An intelligent and rewarding read.«
Frankfurter Neue Presse

»Again, Juli Zeh gives proof of her tremendous narrative talent. Intense, intelligent, revealing, daunting - full of suspense and harrowing realism!«
Nürnberger Zeitung

»Philosophical, enthralling - characterized by a remarkable linguistic sensitivity.«
Gala

»Juli Zeh aptly constructs the psychograph of an obsessive triangle. A gripping and utterly thrilling story of literary substance and ingenious characters, revealing a sharp sense for narrative pace and structure (...) Juli Zeh is truly one of the most remarkable talents among German authors.«
Darmstädter Echo

»Juli Zeh’s books are intelligent, poignant, witty, and surprising.«
bücher – Tomorrow’s 10 most important writers

»Juli Zeh tells of a young generation of media savvies who know how to undermine the conventional order. This book combines dry objectivity with poetical depth, creating an atmosphere of highest tension, reflecting a state of moral disorder and neglect on a micro level.«
Solothurn Literature Award, Jury Statement


Reviews from abroad:

»On the chessboard of cold passion, Juli Zeh is the queen. It is not every day, not even every year that one finds intelligence and poetry shoulder to shoulder in one novel. But one does in this novel by Juli Zeh.«
Libération (France)

»Est-ce à dire qu’Ada incarne quelque chose de son époque – en l’occurrence la fin du XXe siècle , les toutes premières années du XXIe, de sa génération? C’est toute la force du roman du l’Allemande Juli Zeh que de ne pas poser directement l’hypothèse, de ne jamais faire porter à son personnage un tel poids. (...) La dimension indéniablement intellectuelle de cette Fille sans qualités ne doit pourtant pas inciter à pender qu’il s’agit là d’un exercice romanesque essentiellement cérébral – il entre beaucoup d’humanité et d’empathie dans le récit mené par Juli Zeh, dans les portraits infiniment vivants qu’elle dresse, dans son impeccable narration, tout empreinte d’une aura fataliste.«
Télérama (France)

»An outstanding novel about intelligence gone astray (...). Taking a solidary view on two highly gifted, economically privileged, extravagating teenagers, ‚Spieltrieb’ is cult book material.«
Politiken (Denmark)

More titles by Juli Zeh