Peter Rosei is emerging as one of the most important writers in contemporary Austrian letters. His works are reviewed regularly, and usually favorably, in major newspapers in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. But Rosei's moderate form of experimentation and his sometimes bizarre, even morbid, themes have prevented him from achieving much success with the general reading public, even though many of his works have been published in West Germany in inexpensive paperback editions. This lack of interest can also perhaps be attributed to the deceptive nature of his writing: while on the surface Rosei's style appears to be straightforward and realistic, a closer examination reveals a complicated and iconoclastic Weltanschauung.

Born on 17 June 1946 in Vienna, Rosei studied law at the University of Vienna and received his doctorate in 1968. After completing his obligatory nine-month military service he worked as a secretary for the artist Ernst Fuchs. He soon became discouraged...