Christian Kracht was born on December 29, 1966, in Switzerland, the son of the managing director of the Axel Springer AG publishing house. He received an excellent education at boarding schools in Germany and the United States, and lived in Thailand, Nepal, Paraguay, Argentina, Tanzania, and South Africa. In 2001, at the invitation of Ad Marginem publishing house, he visited Moscow and St. Petersburg. In 2004, he made a 'research' trip to North Korea and began publishing the international magazine Der Freund, with its editorial office in Kathmandu (eight issues were published). Christian Kracht is the author of five novels, several short story collections, and the screenplay for the feature film Finsterworld. His books have been translated into 15 languages.