Finn Job

Finn Job was born in Hanover in 1995. He studied literature, philosophy, and art history, left university without a degree and published essays, glosses, and short stories in various newspapers and magazines. He has received funding for his literary work from the German Literature Fund and the Berlin Senate, among others.

His debut novel »Hinterher« (tr: Afterwards) was published in 2022, in which the lovesick first-person narrator embarks on a drug-fueled road trip to France. His companion Francesco wants to use a church in Normandy for an art project. The two friends stay with Gédéon, who doesn’t seem to be entirely sane … »Underneath this story, the author intones a sarcastic swan song to the discourse maneuvers and exaggerated consternation mentality of our present day. (…) The provocations are explosive and have their charm«, was the verdict of »Die Zeit«, which also emphasized the variety of narrative tones: laconic and elegant, polemical in places, then again quiet and deliberate. »The novel is a single escape. But not an escape that the protagonist chooses for himself. He uses it for his own purposes, but he is pulled. (…) (I)t struck me that the protagonist assumes, both privately and politically, that the battles have all been fought and lost. Now the poor man has to wander this sad earth like the undead«, the author said in an interview with »Jungle World«. The novel was voted »Book of the Month« by »Schweizer Monat« in November 2022.

»Damenschach« (2024; tr: Queen’s Chess) is now Finn Job’s second novel. Set out as a comedy in five acts, it oscillates between satire and the grotesque as it tells the story of a birthday party in the Vienna Woods, where the controversial issues of the present are discussed. As in his debut, the author proves that he not only masters the shrill register, but also turns to the hopes and longings of his characters.

Finn Job lives in Berlin.

Status: May 2024

Hinterher
Klaus Wagenbach
Berlin, 2022

Damenschach
Klaus Wagenbach
Berlin, 2024