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Was geschieht, wenn das Gleichgewicht aus den Fugen gerät? Dieser Frage widmet sich Matias Faldbakken in seinem neuen Roman. Den Rahmen bildet ein altmodisches Restaurant namens The Hills, dessen Ursprünge bis ins 19. Jahrhundert zurückreichen. Ein Pianist sorgt für ruhige Hintergrundmusik, die Einrichtung ist klassisch, gediegen. Der Leser wird in ein eigenes Universum eingeführt. Chef, Koch, Kellner: Die Hierarchien sind klar verteilt. Es herrscht eine Mischung aus strikten Routinen und hochsensiblen Umgangsformen. All das gerät ins Wanken, als eine unbekannte Frau ins Lokal kommt. Wer ist die Frau? Was will sie? Nicht nur der Kellner, sondern auch die Stammgäste geraten in Aufruhr.

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Set in an Oslo restaurant and narrated with searing wit and irresistible charm by a neurotic waiter, this Norwegian literary sensation is to be published around the world in twelve languages and counting.

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´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 regular - and irregular - 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, the most demanding of them all, impatiently awaiting a special guest. When at last she arrives - young, beautiful, mysterious - she will prove a challenging new flavour, throwing into disarray our waiter´s nerves, and the delicately balanced ingredients of the room.

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.

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"
Faldbakken has a way with non-action. He builds a delicious tension between the paucity of events and the lavishness of the technique with which they are described.
" New York Times

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