The first time I ever heard of Tom Lanoye was in a radio show called "De Taalstrijd" (The language battle), a language game.  He had a kind of humor that appealed to me.  A bit dark, very sharp and sarcastic.  He was one of the so-called "pretty young gods", a generation of younger writers at that time.  I had read a book by Herman Brusselmans, another of the gods, and didn't really like it, and I was a bit reluctant to just try another god.  Afraid to be disappointed I suppose.

But I found a collection of shorter stories by Lanoye in a book-sale, and I never regretted buying it.  He writes very easy to read stories, yet the satire and sharp analysis hidden in them do give them an extra level that makes Lanoye rise well above the average author.