Robert Menasse

(Vienna, 1954) is a philosopher and writer. He considers himself a born storyteller, and the philosophical aspect in his work is clearly present. From an early age he became fascinated with Hegel, although he radically turned Hegel's most important philosophyon its head: mankind does not develop towards a peak, on the contrary, it removes itself from it. According to Menasse, birth is the peak and what follows is merely a slow death. Robert Menasse studied literature and philosophy, after that he taught literature at the university of Saõ Paulo for seven years. Since 1988 Menasse is a fulltime writer. He writes novels, essays and, together with his wife and daughter, children's books. He is also a translator of Portugese into German. Menasse's books, translated into Dutch are De verdrijving uit de hel (Driven out of hell) and the trilogy Bar Hopeloos; Zalige tijden, breekbare wereld en Kentering (Very hopeless wonderfull times, Fragile world and A turning of the tide). In the book Das Land ohne Eigenschaften (The land without characteristics) from 1992, he analysed, in a razor sharp and controversial way, the mental climate of Austria.