Coffee and Cigarettes

Veering between the insightful and the oblique, some of these jottings sear themselves onto your mind instantly […] one quickly develops a taste for von Schirach’s unpredictable musings, a taste which has become such a full-blown addiction by the end of the book that you wish it was twice as long – Jake Kerridge * Daily Telegraph *
Beautifully translated … the volume thrives on the tension between von Schirach’s deceptively simple prose and his profoundly humane view of the ethical calamities of our age. Combining moving character studies with essayistic contemplations of the nature of justice, human dignity and our collective human frailty, von Schirach reflects both on our capacity for cruelty and on our ability to experience healing moments of connection * TLS *
Praise for Ferdinand von Schirach –
Addictive … fascinating * The Spectator *
Ice-cool, effortlessly classy prose * Observer *
Tantalising and disturbing in equal measure – Laura Wilson * Guardian *
An exceptional prose stylist * New York Times *
A magnificent storyteller * Der Spiegel *
Psychologically raw … delivered in a crisp translation by Katharina Hall, his unfussy prose is icily effective … it suggests that all justice systems are flawed, that they are all just processes. And, with immense empathy, von Schirach’s stories show what happens to people when they are processed. – Christian House * Financial Times *
The stories are cool, meticulously crafted, pithy and mordantly amusing … this is an unsettling, affecting, extremely powerful book. Highly recommended – Declan Hughes * Irish Times *
An impressive page-turner with substance and bite * Bookmunch *
Thrilling and edgy, often carrying a twist in the tale – To the Ends of the Word blog

Ferdinand von Schirach was born in Munich in 1964, and has worked as a defence lawyer for twenty years. He published his first book at the age of 45 and has since published various short stories, novels, essays and plays. Ferdinand von Schirach’s books have been translated into more than 40 languages, and have sold millions of copies worldwide. He lives in Berlin.

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