by Peter Beck
Since I’ve long been reading a lot of crime fiction in English, I started to think about an English edition. The experience, patience and wisdom of Tanja Howarth, my new London-based agent, soon led to Oneworld, where I immediately felt very welcome and I’m particularly grateful to company owners Juliet Mabey and Novin Doostdar. My thanks go to Eva Stensrud and her colleagues from Pro Helvetia for generously supporting the translation and to Jamie Bulloch for so admirably translating my complicated sentences into an elegant read.
I’m greatly indebted to Jenny Parrott, from Oneworld’s imprint Point Blank, as it was she who acquired and edited Damnation. Many thanks to Kate Beal, Alyson Coombes, Paul Nash, Margot Weale, James Jones, Hayley Warnham, Caitriona Row and Thanhmai Bui-Van, and my copy-editor Emily Thomas. In my eyes, they and all the others working in the background lifted Damnation to another level and proved what good teamwork can achieve.
I also highly appreciate all the book aficionados working in libraries and book shops, running specialized blogs or writing in the media. It’s always fun to answer your tricky questions or to do readings. And last but certainly not least, a million thanks to all my readers. For me as an author you are the most important. Thank you!
This book wouldn’t be in your hands if my Queen of Hearts, Elizabeth Steele, had frowned sceptically ten years ago discouraging me to continue. Since then, she helped me in more ways than you can imagine. I love you lots!
Peter Beck
www.peter-beck.net/english
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The Space Between Us by Zoya Pirzad (Persian)
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The Hilltop by Assaf Gavron (Hebrew)
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Morning Sea by Margaret Mazzantini (Italian)
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A Perfect Crime by A Yi (Chinese)
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Minus Me by Ingelin Røssland (YA) (Norwegian)
Translated by Deborah Dawkin
Laurus by Eugene Vodolazkin (Russian)
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Masha Regina by Vadim Levental (Russian)
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French Concession by Xiao Bai (Chinese)
Translated by Chenxin Jiang
The Sky Over Lima by Juan Gómez Bárcena (Spanish)
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A Very Special Year by Thomas Montasser (German)
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The Hermit by Thomas Rydahl (Danish)
Translated by K.E. Semmel
The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Thériault (French)
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Translated by Steven Cohen
Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin (Spanish)
Translated by Megan McDowell
The Postman’s Fiancée by Denis Thériault (French)
Translated by John Cullen
The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao by Martha Batalha (Brazilian Portuguese)
Translated by Eric M. B. Becker
The Temptation to Be Happy by Lorenzo Marone (Italian)
Translated by Shaun Whiteside
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa (Japanese)
Translated by Alison Watts
They Know Not What They Do by Jussi Valtonen (Finnish)
Translated by Kristian London
The Tiger and the Acrobat by Susanna Tamaro (Italian)
Translated by Nicoleugenia Prezzavento and Vicki Satlow
The Woman at 1,000 Degrees by Hallgrímur Helgason (Icelandic)
Translated by Brian FitzGibbon
Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi (Arabic)
Translated by Jonathan Wright
Back Up by Paul Colize (French)
Translated by Louise Rogers Lalaurie
Damnation by Peter Beck (German)
Translated by Jamie Bulloch
Oneiron by Laura Lindstedt (Finnish)
Translated by Owen Witesman
The Boy Who Belonged to the Sea by Denis Thériault (French)
Translated by Liedewy Hawke
The Baghdad Clock by Shahad Al Rawi (Arabic)
Translated by Luke Leafgren
The Aviator by Eugene Vodolazkin (Russian)
Translated by Lisa C. Hayden
Lala by Jacek Dehnel (Polish)
Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones
A Point Blank Book
First published in North America, Great Britain & Australia by Point Blank, an imprint of Oneworld Publications, 2018
This ebook published 2018
Originally published in German as Söldner des Geldes by Emons Verlag, 2013
Copyright © Peter Beck, 2013
English Translation © Jamie Bulloch, 2018
The moral right of Peter Beck to be identified as the
Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved
Copyright under Berne Convention
A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-78607-327-3 (Hardback)
ISBN 978-1-78607-326-6 (eBook)
This edition has been published with the support of the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia
This is a work of fiction. While, as in all fiction, the literary perceptions
and insights are based on experience, all names, characters,
places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Oneworld Publications
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London WC1B 3SR
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