rose to instant fame with his tragicomic first novel, Blauwe maandagen, and confirmed his talent with Figuranten, published in 1997. In addition to plays, screenplays and a book of poems, Grunberg has published essays (De troost van de slapstick, 1998) and travelogues. His novels Fantoompijn (2000), De asielzoeker (2003) and De joodse messias (2004) as well as those published under a pseudonym — De geschiedenis van mijn kaalheid (2000) and Gstaad 95-98 (2002) — have been highly acclaimed by public and press alike. Grunberg, whose work is published in eighteen languages, lives and works in New York City.