 Marais was graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in anthropology, then continued his education in Canada at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, focusing on Polynesian archaeology, where we earned a master's degree in archaeology with a thesis on fortifications in Tonga.Marais studied language and art history in Paris and since 1995 has lived in Germany, during which time he began publishing novels and working as a screenwriter.He currently teaches English composition and creative writing at the Anglo-American University in Prague.