Originally written as a libretto for the Berlin State Opera, Elfriede Jelinek's rein GOLD reconstructs the events of Wagner's epic Ring cycle and extends them into the present day.

2004 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE LAUREATE & AUTHOR OF THE PIANO TEACHER: Elfriede Jelinek is critically-acclaimed Austrian playwright and novelist whose work has been commended for the 'musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that, with extraordinary linguistic zeal, reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power'. With REIN GOLD, Jelinek maintains her distinctive polyphonic style, using Wagner's Ring Cycle to explore the ills of capitalism. CAPITALISM & POLITICS: Given the essay's focus on the birth of capitalism, financial crises including the Great Depression and the 2008 recession, and the rise of fascism, REIN GOLD will appeal to those with an interest in politics, history and economics. GENRE BENDING: Originally written as a a libretto for the Berlin State Opera, REIN GOLD uses fictional elements to explore a wide range of historical and current affair topics in a distinctive literary style. REIN GOLD will therefore appeal to readers of works that elude a fixed definition of genre, for eg, readers of W.G. Sebald, Anne Carson, and Charlie Fox's THIS YOUNG MONSTER.