The first winner of the German Book Prize: the best book of 2005 in Austria, Germany, Switzerland (the German equivalent of the Booker). Arno Geiger is a modern Austrian writer, winner of many literary awards, born in 1968 in Bregenz (Austria). He studied German philology and ancient history at the universities of Innsbruck and Vienna. Lives in Wolfurt and Vienna. Published since 1996. “Everything is fine with us” is something more than just a novel about Austria and the history of one Austrian family. At the center of the story is what is usually hidden, what is talked about only in private. “We’re doing well” is a serious novel about missed opportunities, about the power of thoughts and the discrepancies between them and actions. A deep and successful book,” writes about Arno Geiger’s novel “BieZeit.” The story of the Stern family, which is not particularly different from other Austrian families, appears in the novel as an “absurd sequence of chain reactions” (“BieZeit”). Geiger is primarily interested in the “small” events of the Stern family, not noticeable to an outside observer. He is interested in the balance of power between the children and members of the household, the relationship between a strong father and a freedom-loving daughter. , a deceived wife and a husband who cheats on her. From such “small tragedies” the history of the family is formed, all these seemingly insignificant events determine the future of the family. At the same time, the author does not lose sight of the “big” history of Austria, and the reader does not forget for a second. about where, in what country, the action takes place.

The novel “Everything is fine with us” is a panorama of nearly 70 years of 20th-century history, told by a young Austrian writer using the example of the fate of his country and the lives of three generations. Arno Geiger is a master of combined storytelling, where the intimate and personal lives of characters are really connected to world politics, and their supposedly empty chatter is connected to deep historical generalizations... This is an amazing book about missed opportunities, about the power of the mind and about the gap between right thoughts and wrong actions. Russia also fit into the plot, playing a certain historical role in the development of Austria in the post-war period. This is a serious book and a great success for the young author, who became the first winner of the main book award of German-speaking countries, created in 2005 and awarded on the eve of the Frankfurt Book Fair.