Copy Paste Quotes

Air by Christian Kracht review – a metaphysical jigsaw puzzle

A portal opens from our modern world of data centres and interior design into a medieval fantasy realm, in this playfully surreal tale from the author of Eurotrash

A reclusive interior designer named Paul travels from his home in Orkney to the Norwegian coastal city of Stavanger for a most unusual commission. A datacentre housing a vast internet server is located by a fjord on the outskirts of the city, and a prestigious arts magazine is paying him a large sum of money to give it a makeover. They want him to paint the interiors white – “not just any white, but the perfect white, the singular white”. Shortly after he arrives, a freak weather event causes a power outage, and Paul goes missing; meanwhile the magazine’s jaded editor, Cohen, takes an overdose of barbiturates.

In alternate chapters a very different tale unfolds, set in a distant medieval world redolent of Norse mythology. A man, referred to only as “the stranger”, is nursed back to health by a nine-year-old girl who has shot him with an arrow after mistaking him for a deer. He is being pursued by a vengeful duke, and persuades the girl to join him on the run. Together they leave their plague-ridden town, traverse a barren wasteland and discover a subterranean stone city whose inhabitants live a communal existence, subsisting on seafood and kelp.

Jul 23, 2026 Fiction Books Culture

See more Browse news Browse quotes Music for You Quizzes

Fiction Jul 23, 2026 Air by Christian Kracht review – a metaphysical jigsaw puzzle A portal opens from our modern world of data centres and interior design into a medieval fantasy realm, in this playfully surreal tale from the author of EurotrashA reclusive interior designer named Paul travels from...

Air by Christian Kracht review – a metaphysical jigsaw puzzle

A portal opens from our modern world of data centres and interior design into a medieval fantasy realm, in this playfully surreal tale from the author of EurotrashA reclusive interior designer named Paul travels from...

More news worth opening next

Japan Jul 25, 2026 Can Japan avoid a Liz Truss-style shock as its PM embarks on a giant spending spree? Sanae Takaichi’s blueprint to inject £1.7tn and double economic growth leaves many investors fearfulInternational investors are asking where Japan’s prime mi...

Can Japan avoid a Liz Truss-style shock as its PM embarks on a giant spending spree?

Sanae Takaichi’s blueprint to inject £1.7tn and double economic growth leaves many investors fearfulInternational investors are asking where Japan’s prime mi...

Jul 25, 2026 Live Updates: Hundreds of Thousands Flee as Fires Rage in Spain and France Firefighters were racing to contain blazes that were moving closer to Madrid and Bordeaux.

Live Updates: Hundreds of Thousands Flee as Fires Rage in Spain and France

Firefighters were racing to contain blazes that were moving closer to Madrid and Bordeaux.

Initial Public Offerings Jul 25, 2026 Blockbuster I.P.O.s Are Creating New Millionaires. Philanthropies Want a Cut. As start-ups like Anthropic and OpenAI prepare to go public, nonprofits are hoping for a secondary giving windfall from the new tech ultrawealthy.

Blockbuster I.P.O.s Are Creating New Millionaires. Philanthropies Want a Cut.

As start-ups like Anthropic and OpenAI prepare to go public, nonprofits are hoping for a secondary giving windfall from the new tech ultrawealthy.

Mergers Jul 25, 2026 Sell the Company for $400 Million? He’s Giving It Away Instead. After his sole heir died, Eddie Smith, the owner of Grady-White Boats, looked for a way to pass on his legacy. He was inspired by Patagonia to pledge future...

Sell the Company for $400 Million? He’s Giving It Away Instead.

After his sole heir died, Eddie Smith, the owner of Grady-White Boats, looked for a way to pass on his legacy. He was inspired by Patagonia to pledge future...

Wildfires Jul 25, 2026 Tell us: have you been affected by wildfires in Europe? Wildfires are burning in parts of the UK and Europe, forcing people to leave their homes, disrupting travel and affecting communities. We would like to hear...

Tell us: have you been affected by wildfires in Europe?

Wildfires are burning in parts of the UK and Europe, forcing people to leave their homes, disrupting travel and affecting communities. We would like to hear...

Women's football Jul 25, 2026 Missing a major football tournament? Fear not, Wafcon 2026 is about to start The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations starts in Morocco on Sunday, with Cape Verde and Egypt looking to continue feelgood factor from the men’s World Cup and Nig...

Missing a major football tournament? Fear not, Wafcon 2026 is about to start

The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations starts in Morocco on Sunday, with Cape Verde and Egypt looking to continue feelgood factor from the men’s World Cup and Nig...

Food safety Jul 25, 2026 I tried so hard to become a salad eater. Now cyclospora is sending me back to burgers | Dave Schilling Between the companies pushing junk food and the bacteria threatening our produce, eating right feels basically impossibleWhile war and conflict seem to be ra...

I tried so hard to become a salad eater. Now cyclospora is sending me back to burgers | Dave Schilling

Between the companies pushing junk food and the bacteria threatening our produce, eating right feels basically impossibleWhile war and conflict seem to be ra...

Consumer affairs Jul 25, 2026 Summer holiday car hire: drive a great deal and avoid hidden fees Unclear terms and expensive extras can turn what seemed like a cheap rental into a costly oneIt is not too late to get a good deal on your holiday car rental...

Summer holiday car hire: drive a great deal and avoid hidden fees

Unclear terms and expensive extras can turn what seemed like a cheap rental into a costly oneIt is not too late to get a good deal on your holiday car rental...

Television Jul 25, 2026 Euphoria gave me the courage to come out to my friend – now we’re together I was uncertain about expressing my queerness, until I saw the way Zendaya and Hunter Schafer’s characters opened up to each other in HBO’s dramaI don’t reme...

Euphoria gave me the courage to come out to my friend – now we’re together

I was uncertain about expressing my queerness, until I saw the way Zendaya and Hunter Schafer’s characters opened up to each other in HBO’s dramaI don’t reme...

Andy Burnham Jul 25, 2026 The UK has its first Catholic PM – but don’t expect a US-style religious culture war to follow Trump administration has clashed with Vatican on social issues but Burnham’s faith is shaped by different principles With the appointment of Britain’s first...

The UK has its first Catholic PM – but don’t expect a US-style religious culture war to follow

Trump administration has clashed with Vatican on social issues but Burnham’s faith is shaped by different principles With the appointment of Britain’s first...

Japan Jul 25, 2026 ‘I never mentioned it for 25 years. I didn’t want to be a victim of the bomb’: Hiroshima survivor Koko Kondo on horror, anger and forgiveness On that fateful day in 1945, Kondo was just a baby in her mother’s arms. She talks about her father’s newly discovered eye-witness account of the aftermath –...

‘I never mentioned it for 25 years. I didn’t want to be a victim of the bomb’: Hiroshima survivor Koko Kondo on horror, anger and forgiveness

On that fateful day in 1945, Kondo was just a baby in her mother’s arms. She talks about her father’s newly discovered eye-witness account of the aftermath –...

Zohran Mamdani Jul 25, 2026 ‘I’m over the moon’: New York’s small business owners rejoice as Mamdani cuts red tape Initiatives including cutting permits just to serve ice-cream amount to a sweeping program of deregulationRed Scare? The democratic socialist mayor of New Yo...

‘I’m over the moon’: New York’s small business owners rejoice as Mamdani cuts red tape

Initiatives including cutting permits just to serve ice-cream amount to a sweeping program of deregulationRed Scare? The democratic socialist mayor of New Yo...

Air by Christian Kracht review – a metaphysical jigsaw puzzle

More news worth opening next

Need the full article?