Alain Claude Sulzer has published many novels, most recently Postskriptum and Die Jugend ist ein fernes Land. The main theme of Aus den Fugen is Beethoven’s Hammerklavier sonata. The prizes he has won for his work include the Prix Médicis étranger, the Hermann Hesse Prize and the Culture Prize of the City of Basel. A freelance writer, he lives in Basel, Berlin and Alsace.