Christian Kracht: Imperium

Christian Kracht's Imperium: A Fiction of the South Seas is a satirical parable that sees fanaticism as the root of German culture and imperialist culture in general. We discuss his hero, August Engelhardt, a kind of sacred fool, who disappears to a South Sea island where he becomes a cocovore – a coconut eating nudist health nut who ends up weighing sixty-seven pounds and suffering from leprosy. This is what happens to visions of paradise.