Faber’s journey is an existential crisis where his self-image as a "man of the future" collapses under the weight of his past.
It celebrates contemporary craftsmanship and the "living treasures" of artisans from around the world. Homo Faber
Written in a dry, clinical "report" style, the book depicts a man disconnected from his emotions and the natural world, viewing even people as machines or biological data points. Faber’s journey is an existential crisis where his
Walter Faber, a highly rational Swiss engineer working for UNESCO, believes only in logic, mathematics, and probability. His life unravels after a series of "improbable" events—a plane crash in the Mexican desert, a chance meeting with his former lover’s brother, and a tragic romance with a young woman named Sabeth, who he later discovers is his own daughter. Key Themes: Walter Faber, a highly rational Swiss engineer working
Faber’s insistence that everything is manageable through engineering is shattered by coincidences that mirror ancient Greek tragedies (specifically Oedipus Rex ).
He argued that human intelligence is specifically geared toward creating artificial tools. The Homo Faber Biennial (Venice)