Labaule & Erben

The world of the Labaule publishing family, pronounced "Labóhl", is out of joint. When the patriarch of the clan and his eldest son die, his second-born son Wolfram suddenly and unexpectedly becomes heir to a newspaper empire that has taken generations to build.

And that could be a problem. Because until now, Wolfram, husband, loyal father of two grown-up children, bon vivant, professional son, and permanent board member at the Leuck-Erschwicker poetry club, has never set foot in the publishing house. But Wolfram has no intention of surrendering the whole business to the tabloid competition, as his mother, who returned from Uruguay in time for the reading of the will, has in mind. Especially as he finally sees a chance to show his mother that he too can be a doer like his father. It would be the first time in 55 years, after all.

And so Wolfram Labaule gathers his courage, buttons up his British baby alpaca jacket and presses forward. But in the world of German publishing, tumbling as it is between quality journalism and pet food mail orders, which way is forward exactly? Wolfram doesn't know. And slowly he realizes that decision-making and business management is a wide field. A minefield, in fact, in which his envious mother spins a finely-woven web of intrigue against him, he gets his tri-media-savvy son Tristan – self-appointed business guru and wannabe start-upper – put under his nose, while a small personal problem endangers his marriage. And so Wolfram is suddenly faced with the biggest challenge of his so-far-so-pleasantly unexciting life...

PRESS

Spiegel Der Journalismus ist tot. Es lebe der Journalismus!

Welt Ein schrecklicher Verdacht

Tagespiegel Die ganze Welt ist Ärger

TAZ Verleger wider Willen