| Author | Arno Schmidt |
|---|---|
| Original title | Die Gelehrtenrepublik |
| Translator | Michael Horovitz |
| Language | German |
| Publisher | Stahlberg Verlag [de] |
Publication date | 1957 |
| Publication place | West Germany |
Published in English | 1979 |
| Pages | 225 |
The Egghead Republic (German:Die Gelehrtenrepublik), also published asRepublica Intelligentsia,[1] is a 1957 novel by the German writerArno Schmidt.
It is the year 2008 and Earth has suffered a devastatingnuclear war. The American journalist Charles Henry Winer is sent to report from theWestern United States and visits two major locations. In a desert ofArizona, he encounters mutants and experimental hybrid creatures. He has a love affair with a femalecentaur named Thalia. On a floating island at thePacific Ocean, he visits the International Republic of Artists and Scientists, where residents tell him about how they preserve and transplant human brains.[2][3]
Paul West ofThe Washington Post wrote that the novel is "sheer, complex fun" and offers "Schmidt as his feistiest, his most ingenious, and his most captivating".[2]
The Swedish filmThe Egghead Republic was shot in 2023. The film is loosely based on the novel and set in Kazakhstan.[4]