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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed The Dinner and was excited to see this book. Similar to the dinner, everyone is unlikeable and flawed. This book, however, is much more of a train wreck than The Dinner. Everyone is completely unlikeable - your sympathies never change through out the book. The narrator, Marc is a doctor who hates his patients and the human body. As that launching pad you meet his wife, two young daughters and his famous actor patient, Ralph and Ralph's wife and two boys about the same age as Marc's daughter. Next thing we know Marc and Ralph are friends and they are on vacation together at a summer house, with a swimming pool. Getting there of course is part of the journey as is what happens to completely ruin the summer vacation. And it isn't until the end that you find out what really happened, but then then you are too firmly entrenched in your dislike of the "guilty" parties that is hardly matters who is really guilty, because really they all are at some level.
This book is very graphic, not so much in terms of violence - there are a few punches here and there - but in terms of bodily functions, descriptions of bodies, injuries, etc. The narrator is a doctor after all, and can view this all "with a doctor's eye" - I can't say that I can! I have no ideas if all the medical stuff is true, so seems plausible and some seems a bit crazy - much like the narrator.
This was definitely a difficult book to rate. I gave it 4 stars because I couldn't wait to get back to it and see what was going to happen next. However, no one in the book is likable, there is no happy ending nor redemption. Still, a great read!
This book is very graphic, not so much in terms of violence - there are a few punches here and there - but in terms of bodily functions, descriptions of bodies, injuries, etc. The narrator is a doctor after all, and can view this all "with a doctor's eye" - I can't say that I can! I have no ideas if all the medical stuff is true, so seems plausible and some seems a bit crazy - much like the narrator.
This was definitely a difficult book to rate. I gave it 4 stars because I couldn't wait to get back to it and see what was going to happen next. However, no one in the book is likable, there is no happy ending nor redemption. Still, a great read!
Definitely not as good as the other books I've read of his, but still the same kinda weird psychotic stuff. The disgust that the Dr has for certain people is definitely a Koch thing.
You know pretty soon what's happened and how Ralph died, but then the whole story of how it came about is quite intriguing. Altho I have a few questions after finishing this, I feel like it didn't fully end for me...like... why didn't he get help for his daughter? and why did he feel like he needed to have that affair? I dunno, it was kind of weird and I couldn't decide if it was sexist or not. Definitely infuriating ideas, but that's why Koch is all about.
Totally unlikeable characters (which is definitely a Koch thing). Anyway, I still like him and would give another book a go!
You know pretty soon what's happened and how Ralph died, but then the whole story of how it came about is quite intriguing. Altho I have a few questions after finishing this, I feel like it didn't fully end for me...like... why didn't he get help for his daughter? and why did he feel like he needed to have that affair? I dunno, it was kind of weird and I couldn't decide if it was sexist or not. Definitely infuriating ideas, but that's why Koch is all about.
Totally unlikeable characters (which is definitely a Koch thing). Anyway, I still like him and would give another book a go!
Thought provoking but ultimately disappointing
I read this after tearing through both The Dinner and Mr M. Perhaps reading three books by Koch in a row brought to light some tricks that wouldn't have stood out otherwise, but realized where our narrator was headed almost from the start. Still, read this very quickly and as with those other books, the pages turned quickly as I neared the end.
If you have enjoyed his other books you'll probably find this one a decent read as well.
I read this after tearing through both The Dinner and Mr M. Perhaps reading three books by Koch in a row brought to light some tricks that wouldn't have stood out otherwise, but realized where our narrator was headed almost from the start. Still, read this very quickly and as with those other books, the pages turned quickly as I neared the end.
If you have enjoyed his other books you'll probably find this one a decent read as well.
Two families, two summers and one hell of a messed up story. Lots of twists and red herrings.
Herman Koch is the Dutch Chuck Palahniuk. His prose reads like insight but inevitably portrays humanity as icky. Much like "The Dinner," this book slowly unrolls a tragedy. Much like "The Dinner," by the end no one seems innocent. I thought "The Dinner" was a masterpiece of writing but here it reads more like formula.
This was written from the point-of-view of a character I didn't like - which made it hard to read. Found myself skimming a lot as this character's thoughts were so disturbing.
I gave up on this book.The main character (More of an antagonist than a protagonist) is a hateful, self hating narcissist that repeatedly fails to rise to a challenge and ends up just complaining about everything. He's just not interesting at all.
Deliciously unsettling. A gripping yet domestic tale told by a narrator you can't tell is a monster or a hero. When you put the book down, it feels like you've woken up from a dream that felt so real, yet so bizarre. Herman Koch at his finest!