Pfitz was a Book of the Year Choice in The Observer and The New York Times upon its original publication - writers as diverse as Hilary Mantel and Jonathan Coe have championed Andrew Crumey's writing. It follows an 18th-century German prince who dedicates his life to the construction of imaginary cities, with name Pfitz taken from an inhabitant of one of the prince's fanciful cities, Rreinnstadt.