Clemens Berger, THE PRESIDENT

Residenz - Novel - Hardcover - August 2020 - 320 pages - English Rights available

Jay Immer, son of immigrants from Austria, loving husband and righteous policeman in Chicago, is 55 years old when the American dream takes hold of him.
He is elected 40th President of the USA, or more precisely: his doppelganger. From now on he replaces Ronald Reagan wherever the President can't be: at shopping mall openings and burger dinners, at parties and at photo shoots. But when Jay discovers his own voice and gets involved in the environmental movement, the idyll is torn apart. Touching, up-to-date and full of tragicomic humour, Clemens Berger looks behind the scenes of power and tells the unforgettable story of a man who stepped onto the stage of world politics to give his wife Lucy a swimming pool.

• “Clemens Berger amusingly explores the possibilities of a double of a famous man.” - Deutschlandfunk Kultur

• “Partly bizarre, partly touching, always wonderful” - Wiener Zeitung

• “A novel well balanced between comedy and seriousness.” - Falter

• “Berger portrays this simple man, who takes great pleasure in his new job, with great sensitivity and with great affection.” - orf.at

• “Clemens Berger tells Jay Immers' story in "The President" (...) with much humour and warmth for his characters.” - Welt am Sonntag

• “Unlike Donald Trump, "The President" tells the shrewd story of a hero who never wanted to be one and who, off the big stage of world politics, cares about one thing above all: the love for his First Lady Lucy.” - Ö1 Mittagsjournal

• “With its unreal construction, the book reads like an eulogy to hope. And where else can you see this, if not in literature.” - Presse

• “A book full of humour, friendship, a very great love - and a very, very touching ending.” - KRONE