The charming and original story of a small, declining community's struggle to survive in the shadow of an all-consuming metropolis, from from the multi-million copy bestselling author of The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared.

All over the world, people sleep blissfully in Traumbett beds. Marvellous feats of German engineering, and made in Hamburg, they've successfully cornered the market everywhere - except Sweden, which is why Traumbett's owner Konrad Kaltenbacher Jr, is desperate to expand there, and has his sights set firmly on Stockholm.

But Julia Bäck, district councillor on the small, decaying Swedish town of Halstaholm, has plans of her own. Seeing an opportunity to attract 800 new jobs, Julia jumps into spearheading a persuasive campaign to win the contract over Stockholm. A roundabout is hastily renamed in honour of Angela Merkel and adorned with black, red and gold flowers; a German school is quickly established under the leadership of three elderly pensioners and a ten-year-old boy; and the town swimming pool is rapidly transformed into a beerhouse - it had been empty for years anyway!

Julia's tenacity impresses the German bed boss Konrad Jr... but has she bitten off more than she can chew?

The Distinctly Competent District Councillor

Designer: HarperCollins Publishers Limited

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