Cooking in the Wrong Century

Very funny, very stylish and very moving. Teresa Präauer is a novelist of unusual elegance and charm - who can make the reader sadly aware of time passing even while leaving them delightedly hungry -- Adam Thirlwell, author of The Future Future
Deliciously unsettling and thoroughly enjoyable. It's so much fun to see this meticulously planned dinner party go wrong -- Aysegül Savas, author of The Anthropologists
Astute observations on the absurd theatre of aspirational living in the age of social media abound in Teresa Präauer's Cooking in the Wrong Century. Culture, under Präauer's gaze, is a mood that can be blurred by candlelight and the Thelonious Monk Septet: it's irresistible, disorienting * New Statesman *
Sharp but subtle humour . . . witty translation . . . brilliantly clever. Nothing described in the novel can, with complete certainty, be said to have happened * Irish Times *
Clever, amusing and delightfully compact. To be consumed in one sitting, it pairs wonderfully with a glass or four of fizz * Daily Mail *
Every fear you've ever had about hosting a dinner party crops up in this half dream, half choose-your-own-adventure, in which the events of the evening are affected by minor differences: which guests arrive first, and which are late? Who has had a drink on the way? Do they take their shoes off at the door? The characters' conversation follows similar strange, winding tangents to the surreal narrative. Get the crémant open * GQ *
Astute, witty and as pleasurable as a case of Crémant. An irresistible novel - I loved it -- Claire Powell, author of At the Table
Beautiful writing and an interesting concept * Stylist *
There's a sensibility akin to Vincenzo Latronico's Perfection in everyone's obsession with names and cultural touchstones, as they share selfies on social media (#FoodPorn #BestFriendsForever). The tone of this moreish story swings between sadness and satire . . . By the end of the evening, when things spiral outward and the police come calling, only one question remains. "Is there any more Crémant?"' * Guardian *
Takes on gender roles, social disappointments and the memories evoked by food * TLS *
An entertaining, finely observed chamber play and a great culinary reading pleasure -- Nora von Westphalen * ELLE *
Relatively slim in pages but dense with allusions. . . the sliding-doors aspect of the book with different versions of the evening that make it more surreal * Los Angeles Times *
Splices fleeting sincerity with gleeful satire all while digging up the true intents of Vienna's thin upper crust . . . Präauer is both witty and wise; she has a gift for sharp dialogue * The Berliner *
An elegantly written, deliciously sardonic read which I very much enjoyed. The discomforting gap between the fantasy of a convivial dinner party and the awkward reality of tricky, unappreciative guests was beautifully observed. The witty dissection of social media was scalpel-sharp and very entertaining -- Jenny Linford, author of The Missing Ingredient
Unusual and compelling . . . an intelligent social farce about a dinner party * Spectator Takeaway Newsletter *
Astutely analyses social interaction and presents it in a humorous and ironic way -- Laura Sodano * Vogue Germany *
With her well-seasoned, original menu Teresa Präauer proves herself to be an amusingly sophisticated hostess and stimulating companion at this literary dinner -- Irene Prugger * Wiener Zeitung *
Teresa Präauer is one of the brightest candles on the cake of contemporary German literature . . . This is breathtakingly funny, comical and very, very insightful -- Denis Scheck * MDR Best New Books *
Hardly ever has such an intellectually precise novel about taste been written -- Paul Jandl * NZZ *
Entertaining, witty, amusing and clever. It offers plenty of material for the next table conversation -- Annalena Eßer * WDR3 Gutenberg's World *