Vladimir Vertlib

[4][5] Vertlib studied economics at the University of Vienna from 1984–89, and subsequently found employment as a freelancer for the Japanese press agency "Kyodo News Service."

[6] His first two novels, Abschiebung (1995) and Zwischenstationen (1999) both deal with the partly autobiographical experience of exile, telling the stories of families who are migrating from the Soviet Union to other countries.

[citation needed] Vertlib`s novel Schimons Schweigen (2012) was the final episode of the unofficial trilogy revolving around migrant identity and coming to terms with his own odyssey.

[9][10] Vertlib's Das besondere Gedächtnis der Rosa Masur (2001) tells the life story of a 92-year-old Jewish woman who migrated from Leningrad to Germany, and in doing so, covers Russia`s 20th century history: anti-Semitism, communism and war.

[12] In Am Morgen des zwölften Tages (2009), the love story of a German woman and a Muslim man depicts the complicated relationship between Orient and Occident, and between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

[13] Vertlib`s most recent novel, Lucia Binar und die russische Seele (2015), features an 83-year-old woman and a young student who embark on an exceptional journey through Vienna, attempting to locate a call centre employee.

Over the course of their journey, they meet several colorful people, experiencing bizarre phenomena of the Austrian society as well as learning about problematic social and political conditions in Russia.

[18] Furthermore, Vertlib's works deal with Judaism and the experience of being a Jewish migrant, capturing the collective history of Russian Jews in the 20th century through stories of individual characters.

[25] Critics praised Vertlib`s works as thrilling as well as entertaining, comparing him to notable authors John Irving, Joseph Roth, and Isaak Singer.