Literature in the Castle - Vea Kaiser: Fabula Rasa

Vea Kaiser
Fabula Rasa or The Queen of the Grand Hotel
[Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 2025]

About the Author

Vea Kaiser was born in 1988 and lives in Vienna, where she studied Classical Philology. In 2012, she published her first novel "Blasmusikpop oder Wie die Wissenschaft in die Berge kam," which reached number 1 on the ORF best-seller list and was awarded as the best German-language debut at the international Festival du Premier Roman. "Makarionissi oder die Insel der Seligen" followed in 2015 and received the "Best Family Novel" award from the Ravensburger Verlag Foundation. In 2019, Vea Kaiser's third novel "Rückwärtswalzer oder die Manen der Familie Prischinger" was published, and in 2024, she was awarded the international Jonathan Swift Prize for satirical and comic literature.

About the Book

Vienna, late 1980s: Angelika Moser, who grew up in a municipal housing project as the daughter of the caretaker, spends her free time dancing through the nightlife. At the same time, she loves her job in a new, elegant world: As an accountant at the Grand Hotel Frohner, populated by Viennese originals and guests from all over, she engages in dubious number games to save the establishment. Suddenly left alone with a small child, Angelika takes up the fight for a good life and begins to manipulate accounts. Decades pass—until the numbers come crashing down around her.
In "Fabula Rasa," Vea Kaiser tells with linguistic brilliance, wit, and emotion the story of a young woman who boldly takes her fate into her own hands. A different kind of narrative about the pursuit of happiness.