Winner of the European Union Prize for Literature in 2013

Translated by Caroline Waight Kristian Bang Foss’ darkly comic, prize-winning road-novel satire sees two unlikely friends set out to defy the Danish welfare state – and Death himself – with both hilarious and tragic consequences. Life is looking pretty bleak for Asger. After a fiasco at work finds him unceremoniously booted from both his advertising job and his family home, he finds himself the carer of Waldemar, arguably Denmark’s sickest man. Their initial days together in a Copenhagen ghetto only serve to pile on the hopelessness. But then Waldemar hatches a plan: fabled healer Torbi el Mekki offers a miracle cure to all who seek an audience. Only thing is, he’s in Morocco – over two thousand miles and another continent away. Piling into a beaten-up Volkswagen, the two set off on a zany road trip across Europe towards a dubious salvation. But it soon seems they may have unwanted company, for on their tail is a pitch-black Audi... “Tender and indignant, satiric and apocalyptic, wildly, flamingly funny.” - Weekendavisen “With Kristian Bang Foss, the devil created the world, both nature and culture, both the desert and the local authorities. This creates devilish humor and poetry. It is hopelessly sad and it is damn funny.” - Politiken