‘Das Falkenschloss’ – the ‘NZZ’ novel by Richard Reich

The Falkenschloss is a venerable newspaper house. Above all, however, it is a citadel of integrity and a bastion of correct spelling. Richard Reich in conversation with Marina Villa about his newspaper novel. Any similarities to existing publications are neither coincidental nor unintentional.

Zurich, 1980. The deeper the city and the outside world sink into chaos and lawlessness, the more strenuously the people at Falkenschloss insist on correct grammar and good style. And not just the editorial team! From the doorman to three slightly subversive telephone operators to the enigmatic Krystyna in the catering department, everyone has an opinion on what is right and what is wrong. All the more so when chaos takes hold at Falkenschloss too: The editor-in-chief has passed away, the department heads are missing, trainees from good families are vanishing without a trace and have to be replaced at short notice by the old boss’s rather wayward son and by the enigmatic Vola, who writes well but whom nobody wants to hire anyway. Oh yes, and to top it all off, the town’s youth are staging a protest right outside the newspaper’s gates. Thank goodness the Great Proofreader is still there!

Marina Villa puts Richard Reich through his paces.