Der Typ ist da

With full drive and wit, Hanns-Josef Ortheil tells the story of three young women and a stranger in his new novel, a man who has the gift of completely changing their lives. Unexpectedly, the guy suddenly appears. His name is Matteo, he is Venetian, and he works as a restorer. In Venice, he had a fleeting encounter with Mia, a student from Cologne, and followed her invitation to the city on the Rhine. Mia lives with two friends in a shared apartment in northern Cologne. Unaware, they take the stranger in and quickly feel the strong impact of his presence. For Matteo is reserved, unobtrusive, yet radiates something intriguingly magical and unfathomable. He enthusiastically sketches the cathedral and its figures, searching throughout the city for traces of ancient connections between northern Cologne and southern Venice, between the present and the past.